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73 ESL Writing Activities to Spark Your Students’ Creativity and Imagination

From a student’s point of view, writing assignments are something to dread.

But from an ESL teacher’s point of view, they should be a challenge worth accepting.

The challenge for you is to motivate your students enough to actually be excited about writing.

Sounds impossible? It’s actually quite simple.

The key is a strong pre-writing activity that boosts their confidence and adds to their vocabulary at the same time.

So, how do you get your students’ writing off to a great start?

In this post, we’ll look at some different ESL writing activities that will transform your students from hesitant writers to confident wordsmiths in their own right.

Writing Assignments Based on Stories

Writing activities prompted by music, writing practice exercises based on images or pictures, writing assignments based on food, writing activities based on mysteries, exercises to practice writing emails, activities to practice writing advertisements, assignments to practice writing reports, creative writing activity: class newsletter/newspaper.

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People of all ages love a well-told story, and using stories to teach ESL is a sure winner.

A story for a pre-writing activity could be in the form of:

• A  movie . It could be a biography, sci-fi film, thriller, action-packed adventure, fairy tale or even a cartoon.
• A  story read aloud from a book. If you’re using this, read in a way that brings the characters’ voices to life (including the narrator’s), hold the book up to show any pictures within or scan them and project onto a screen as you read. You can also search YouTube videos of famous authors or celebrities reading a book aloud, and show these in class.
• A  story from the news . It could be from the TV, radio, newspaper or an online news site .
• A story read by your students. In this case, you could let them read a story silently or with a partner, and take as long as they like to think about the important parts.

No matter what you choose, it’ll be a great lead-in to the ESL writing exercises below.

1. Re-tell the story as is, or summarize it. (This works best for beginners, who are still getting their feet wet in the waters of English comprehension.)

2. After watching “Finding Nemo” : Tell the story from the point of view of the whale, the dentist’s daughter or Bruce the shark.

3. Explain to Marlin how he should take care of Nemo better.

4. Make up a story about a farm animal/zoo animal/jungle animal. What if a baby ___ was lost? What if a child was lost in the city? What if you found a lost child?

5. After the story of “Goldilocks” : Tell the story from the baby bear’s point of view.

6. What if the baby bear and Goldilocks became best buds? What would happen?

7. After discussing “The Gingerbread Man” : Tell the story from the fox’s or gingerbread man’s point of view.

8. What did the old woman do wrong that made the gingerbread man run away?

9. How do you make a gingerbread man? What other shapes could be made instead?

10. After “Little Red Riding Hood” : Write the story in the first person—from the point of view of either Red Riding Hood or the wolf.

11. What should Red Riding Hood have done when she met the wolf?

12. After watching a “Lord of the Rings” movie: What would you do if you had the One Ring? Write about a magical quest you and several friends would have if you could.

13. After watching a “Pirates of the Caribbean”  movie: What if you were a pirate? What adventures would you have if you were a pirate?

14. After watching “Titanic” : Write about what you discover when you dive onto the wreck. Or imagine you were on the ship when it sank, and talk about how you escaped.

15. Whose fault was it that so many people drowned on the Titanic? What should they have done?

16. After watching a “Star Wars”  movie: Imagine you’re a space explorer and write about what happens when you meet some characters from “Star Wars.”

17. After watching a “Terminator”  movie: Imagine your teacher is a robot that has come back from the future. Or imagine you have come back from the future—what would it be like?

18. After watching a “Harry Potter” movie: Make up some magic spells and explain how you’d use them.

Everybody loves music! Watch your students’ faces light up as soon as they realize that they’re about to be treated to some songs rather than chalk-and-talk. Music stirs the emotions, after all, and can get your students excited about writing.

Here are some ideas for music you can incorporate into ESL writing activities:

• Classical music. There are some pieces of well-known classical music that specifically tell a story , and many of these are available on YouTube.
• “Fantasia 2000,” particularly “Rhapsody in Blue.” This wonderful, wordless animated story can kick off so much great writing!
• Movie music. The music that goes with a movie tells watchers how they should be feeling, and could be a good jumping-off point for some writing.
• Popular songs and music. Self-explanatory. Check out the most popular or trending artists on YouTube or Spotify for ideas.
• Kids’ songs . There’s something about singing a catchy little tune that makes the words stick in your mind more than just saying them. These can lead to some interesting writing, too.

19. After Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” : Tell the story from Peter’s point of view.

20. After Saint-Saëns’ “The Carnival of the Animals” : Imagine walking through the scenes with the animals and interacting with them. Write a story from the point of view of one of the animals.

21. Describe the animals in “The Carnival of the Animals.”

22. After Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” : Re-tell this classic Shakespeare story, adding a twist.

23. After watching and listening to “Rhapsody in Blue” : Tell all/part of the story.

24. If you were the main character in “Rhapsody in Blue,” what would you do?

25. Listen to a piece of classical/instrumental music and tell the story that it might be a background to. Imagine that it’s the background music for a movie.

26. Tell the story (real or made up) behind some popular songs like Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams.”

27. Describe meeting someone special like in the aforementioned Taylor Swift song.

28. What happens in your wildest dreams?

29. What if you were a famous pop star or musician? What would it be like? What would you do?

30. Give instructions on how to find your favorite song on the Internet, both music and lyrics.

31. If you play an instrument, or have a relative who plays one, write about some of the basics of how to play. (This could also work as a speaking and listening activity, and then the whole class could write about it.)

32. What is your favorite genre of music, and why? (Be sure to explain what “genre” means !)

33. Do you think young children should be allowed to freely watch music videos?

Some pictures you can use for ESL writing activities include:

• Pictures from social media. If you use social media at all, you doubtless have a barrage of amazing photos and videos on your feed, all of which make for excellent writing prompts.
• Pictures from Google Images . A quick Google search on any (classroom-safe) image will turn up plenty.
• Cartoons . If you have young students, they’ll definitely enjoy this one.
• Pictures selected by your students. Not sure what to choose? Have your students pick their own pictures to write about. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how vibrant their writing can be when they’re writing about subjects they actually care about.

Regardless of the picture you (or your students) choose, here are some writing prompts you can consider.

34. Tell a story—real or imagined—of what is happening in the picture.

35. Write about what happens next from the pictured moment.

36. Write about what was happening just before the pictured incident.

37. What if that was you in the picture?

38. What if you were the person who took the picture?

39. What if you knew the people in the picture? What would you say to them?

40. Describe all of the elements in the picture. This is great for vocabulary practice.

41. Describe how someone in the picture might be feeling.

42. Explain how to get into  a pictured predicament (for example, in the picture here , how did he get into the boat without the crocodile eating him?) as well as how to get out of it.

43. Express an opinion about the rights and wrongs of the pictured situation. For example, for the same picture above: Should crocodiles be hunted and killed? What should happen if a crocodile kills someone?

Many of your students likely enjoy thinking and talking about food. So why wouldn’t they be motivated to write about it?

How you integrate food into your ESL writing assignments depends on your classroom arrangements and the amount of time you’re willing to put into preparation.

In any case, here are some ideas:

• Start with the preparation and sharing of food before writing about it.
• Look at pictures of food, and talk about them before moving on to writing.
• Have students research food-related topics on the internet.
• Start with a story about food.

Here are the specific food writing prompts:

44. After the story of “The Gingerbread Man”: Think about food that develops a life of its own, and what would happen with it. (This can also open up a discussion about cultural foods.) For example, make up a similar story about another piece of food (e.g., spaghetti or rice that comes alive). What if you felt something moving in your mouth after you bit into your burger?

45. Write a story (real or imagined) about being very hungry and/or finding/buying/stealing food to meet a desperate need.

46. Write a story about trying a new, unfamiliar kind of food—maybe in a (relevant) cross-cultural setting.

47. Write a story about finding and eating a food that has magical properties. (Maybe read or watch some or all of “Alice in Wonderland”  first.)

48. Describe interesting/disgusting/unusual/delicious/colorful foods, especially after a class tasting lesson. (Prepare students first with suitable taste vocabulary .)

49. Describe a food that’s unfamiliar to most students in the class. (This is particularly helpful for classes where there are students belonging to minority groups who hesitate to speak up.)

50. Describe an imaginary magical food.

51. Give instructions for preparing a particular recipe.

52. After a class activity or demonstration involving food: Write down what you have learned.

53. Give instructions for producing food—growing vegetables, keeping animals, etc.

54. Give instructions for buying the best food—what to look for, looking at labels, checking prices and the like.

55. Write about your opinion on food and health in First World and Third World countries. (Explain what makes a country “First,” “Second” or “Third World” first.)

56. Write about your opinion on the cost of food.

57. Write about your opinion on GMOs or genetically engineered foods .

There’s nothing quite like a good “whodunnit,” and students will always enjoy a good puzzle. You can base various pre-writing activities around the two games below to get the class warmed up for ESL writing practice.

• Conundrum. This is an example of a game that can be played as a speaking and listening activity, and can lead into some good writing. The game starts with a simple statement or description of a situation like the ones described in situation puzzles . Students ask questions and receive yes/no answers until they work out the explanation for the situation.

After Conundrum, here are some of the activities your students can do:

58. Write a story about the sequence of events involved in a situation brought up in the game.

59. Devise and describe your own situation puzzle.

• Putting their hands inside a cloth bag (or just feeling the outside) to guess what an object is.
• Smelling substances in opaque jars with perforated lids, and trying to guess what they are.
• Tasting mystery foods on plastic spoons (with blindfolds).
• Looking at pictures of mysterious objects from obscure angles.
• Listening to and guessing the origins of sound effects. (You can record your own, or use some from the Internet .)

(Important: Make sure that whatever you’re using for your guessing game is safe for your students, especially if they involve having to touch, taste or smell the object.)

After a guessing game, your students can:

60. Write about a possible mystery object and a magical quality it could possess.

61. Describe what you thought you saw, heard, felt, tasted or smelled.

For both games, here are some writing prompts you can do:

62. Give instructions for playing one of the games.

63. Give instructions for the perfect crime.

64. Give your opinion about a recent crime and the punishment for it.

Emailing can often be a scary task for your students, especially if they’re using a new, strange language like English. You can utilize an email writing activity to help your students build confidence and get more comfortable writing in English.

Email can also teach your students things like proper language (formal or informal), structure and format. Email-related writing activities for ESL students can offer ample opportunities to teach all of these three aspects.

Since emails involve two parties (the sender and the receiver), you’ll need to pair your students up for this activity. Here’s how to prepare for it:

• Create one set of worksheets explaining details relevant to the sender. For example, it could contain information about a sender’s upcoming birthday party that they want to invite the receiver to.
• Create another set of worksheets with the receiver’s details. The worksheets could contain questions about food dishes or gifts, or it could say that the receiver can’t make it for one reason or other.

Once the above has been done, give one set of worksheets to the “senders” and the other to the “receivers.” Then, here’s what your students will do:

65. Based on the senders’ worksheets, write an email inviting the receiver and explaining the key aspects of the event featured in the worksheet.

66. Based on the receivers’ worksheets, write an email explaining why you can or cannot make it to the party, and/or what other information you need about the event.

Advertisements are everywhere, and you can bet that your students have a few favorite ads of their own. Advertisement-related writing activities work across age groups and can be adapted to most students and their needs.

This great ESL writing assignment can help your students put the adjectives they’ve learned into good use, as well as showcase their creative writing and persuasion skills.

You can find advertisements everywhere, including:

• YouTube videos
• Newspapers and magazines

You can also bring an object (or handful of objects) to class that your students can write ads about.

67. After your students carefully examine the object(s) you brought into class: Write all the adjectives you can think of about it.

68. For a more challenging writing exercise: Write an ad about the object. How would you persuade someone who knows nothing about the object whatsoever to buy it? (Your students may or may not use the adjectives they wrote down earlier. Encourage them to be creative!)

Your students have likely already done some kind of report during the course of their studies. Also, writing reports is a skill that’ll be useful to them once they enter college or the corporate world (if they aren’t in it already). If you feel that they need a little more practice in this area, use this ESL writing assignment.

First, discuss how research and structure matter to reports—and perhaps show them a few samples. Then, give them a few questions to base their reports on, like:

69. What can you say about (insert topic here) in terms of (insert specific angle here)? (For example, “What can you say about the government’s efforts to improve the local park in terms of its impact on the general public?” Of course, you should adapt this question to the level of your students.)

70. After talking about a YouTube video on bears eating salmon : What would happen to the bears if the salmon ran out? 

This ESL writing activity is a bit more intensive and will allow your students to employ many different aspects of their ESL knowledge. Crafting a class newsletter will build collaboration, communication, listening, speaking and, of course, writing skills. If they’re not sure how to build a newsletter or newspaper from scratch, they can always swipe from premade templates like this one .

The newsletter/newspaper can follow a specific theme, or the articles can consist of a hodgepodge of random topics based on questions like:

71. What is the most interesting thing that happened in school this year? It can be the funniest/scariest/most heartwarming incident. Write a feature article about it. (Make sure to explain what a “feature article” is .)

72. Write a report highlighting the key events in some recent local festivals or concerts.

73. Going off of the last exercise, write an ad inviting the reader to buy a product or attend an event.

Once all of the articles are done, you can start putting them together. Make sure to walk your students through these newspaper layout tips . And when the newsletter/newspaper is finally published and circulated out there for the world to see, remember to congratulate your students for a job well done!

No matter what writing assignments you choose, make sure to keep the excitement level high so that your students are enthusiastic for your next writing session.

Whether they write by hand or type on a computer, remember to encourage them as much as you can by focusing on the good points rather than just running all over their mistakes with a red pen.

Lastly, find ways for them to share their efforts—whether online, on the classroom wall, bound together in a book to be passed around, etc.

They can also read aloud to each other, share with their parents and siblings and even share with other classes!

For more ESL assignment ideas, check out this post: 

Great ESL homework ideas can be difficult to come up with. So check out these 13 great ideas for ESL homework assignments that your students will love. Not only are they…

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• Introduction to Writing

Reading and Writing in College

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Understand the expectations for reading and writing assignments in college courses.
• Understand and apply general strategies to complete college-level reading assignments efficiently and effectively.
• Recognize specific types of writing assignments frequently included in college courses.
• Understand and apply general strategies for managing college-level writing assignments.
• Determine specific reading and writing strategies that work best for you individually.

As you begin this section, you may be wondering why you need an introduction. After all, you have been writing and reading since elementary school. You completed numerous assessments of your reading and writing skills in high school and as part of your application process for college. You may write on the job, too. Why is a college writing course even necessary?

When you are eager to get started on the coursework in your major that will prepare you for your career, getting excited about an introductory college writing course can be difficult. However, regardless of your field of study, honing your writing skills—and your reading and critical-thinking skills—gives you a more solid academic foundation.

In college, academic expectations change from what you may have experienced in high school. The quantity of work you are expected to do is increased. When instructors expect you to read pages upon pages or study hours and hours for one particular course, managing your work load can be challenging. This chapter includes strategies for studying efficiently and managing your time.

The quality of the work you do also changes. It is not enough to understand course material and summarize it on an exam. You will also be expected to seriously engage with new ideas by reflecting on them, analyzing them, critiquing them, making connections, drawing conclusions, or finding new ways of thinking about a given subject. Educationally, you are moving into deeper waters. A good introductory writing course will help you swim.

Table 1.1 “High School versus College Assignments” summarizes some of the other major differences between high school and college assignments.

Table 1.1 High School versus College Assignments

This chapter covers the types of reading and writing assignments you will encounter as a college student. You will also learn a variety of strategies for mastering these new challenges—and becoming a more confident student and writer.

Throughout this chapter, you will follow a first-year student named Crystal. After several years of working as a saleswoman in a department store, Crystal has decided to pursue a degree in elementary education and become a teacher. She is continuing to work part-time, and occasionally she finds it challenging to balance the demands of work, school, and caring for her four-year-old son. As you read about Crystal, think about how you can use her experience to get the most out of your own college experience.

Review Table 1.1 “High School versus College Assignments” and think about how you have found your college experience to be different from high school so far. Respond to the following questions:

• In what ways do you think college will be more rewarding for you as a learner?
• What aspects of college do you expect to find most challenging?
• What changes do you think you might have to make in your life to ensure your success in college?

Reading Strategies

Your college courses will sharpen both your reading and your writing skills. Most of your writing assignments—from brief response papers to in-depth research projects—will depend on your understanding of course reading assignments or related readings you do on your own. And it is difficult, if not impossible, to write effectively about a text that you have not understood. Even when you do understand the reading, it can be hard to write about it if you do not feel personally engaged with the ideas discussed.

This section discusses strategies you can use to get the most out of your college reading assignments. These strategies fall into three broad categories:

• Planning strategies. To help you manage your reading assignments.
• Comprehension strategies. To help you understand the material.
• Active reading strategies. To take your understanding to a higher and deeper level.

Planning Your Reading

Have you ever stayed up all night cramming just before an exam? Or found yourself skimming a detailed memo from your boss five minutes before a crucial meeting? The first step in handling college reading successfully is planning. This involves both managing your time and setting a clear purpose for your reading.

Managing Your Reading Time

For now, focus on setting aside enough time for reading and breaking your assignments into manageable chunks. If you are assigned a seventy-page chapter to read for next week’s class, try not to wait until the night before to get started. Give yourself at least a few days and tackle one section at a time.

Your method for breaking up the assignment will depend on the type of reading. If the text is very dense and packed with unfamiliar terms and concepts, you may need to read no more than five or ten pages in one sitting so that you can truly understand and process the information. With more user-friendly texts, you will be able to handle longer sections—twenty to forty pages, for instance. And if you have a highly engaging reading assignment, such as a novel you cannot put down, you may be able to read lengthy passages in one sitting.

As the semester progresses, you will develop a better sense of how much time you need to allow for the reading assignments in different subjects. It also makes sense to preview each assignment well in advance to assess its difficulty level and to determine how much reading time to set aside.

College instructors often set aside reserve readings for a particular course. These consist of articles, book chapters, or other texts that are not part of the primary course textbook. Copies of reserve readings are available through the university library; in print; or, more often, online. When you are assigned a reserve reading, download it ahead of time (and let your instructor know if you have trouble accessing it). Skim through it to get a rough idea of how much time you will need to read the assignment in full.

Setting a Purpose

The other key component of planning is setting a purpose. Knowing what you want to get out of a reading assignment helps you determine how to approach it and how much time to spend on it. It also helps you stay focused during those occasional moments when it is late, you are tired, and relaxing in front of the television sounds far more appealing than curling up with a stack of journal articles.

Sometimes your purpose is simple. You might just need to understand the reading material well enough to discuss it intelligently in class the next day. However, your purpose will often go beyond that. For instance, you might also read to compare two texts, to formulate a personal response to a text, or to gather ideas for future research. Here are some questions to ask to help determine your purpose:

How did my instructor frame the assignment? Often your instructors will tell you what they expect you to get out of the reading:

• Read Chapter 2 and come to class prepared to discuss current teaching practices in elementary math.
• Read these two articles and compare Smith’s and Jones’s perspectives on the 2010 health care reform bill.
• Read Chapter 5 and think about how you could apply these guidelines to running your own business.
• How deeply do I need to understand the reading? If you are majoring in computer science and you are assigned to read Chapter 1, “Introduction to Computer Science,” it is safe to assume the chapter presents fundamental concepts that you will be expected to master. However, for some reading assignments, you may be expected to form a general understanding but not necessarily master the content. Again, pay attention to how your instructor presents the assignment.
• How does this assignment relate to other course readings or to concepts discussed in class? Your instructor may make some of these connections explicitly, but if not, try to draw connections on your own. (Needless to say, it helps to take detailed notes both when in class and when you read.)
• How might I use this text again in the future? If you are assigned to read about a topic that has always interested you, your reading assignment might help you develop ideas for a future research paper. Some reading assignments provide valuable tips or summaries worth bookmarking for future reference. Think about what you can take from the reading that will stay with you.

Improving Your Comprehension

You have blocked out time for your reading assignments and set a purpose for reading. Now comes the challenge: making sure you actually understand all the information you are expected to process. Some of your reading assignments will be fairly straightforward. Others, however, will be longer or more complex, so you will need a plan for how to handle them.

For any expository writing —that is, nonfiction, informational writing—your first comprehension goal is to identify the main points and relate any details to those main points. Because college-level texts can be challenging, you will also need to monitor your reading comprehension. That is, you will need to stop periodically and assess how well you understand what you are reading. Finally, you can improve comprehension by taking time to determine which strategies work best for you and putting those strategies into practice.

Identifying the Main Points

In college, you will read a wide variety of materials, including the following:

• Textbooks. These usually include summaries, glossaries, comprehension questions, and other study aids.
• Nonfiction trade books. These are less likely to include the study features found in textbooks.
• Popular magazine, newspaper, or web articles. These are usually written for a general audience.
• Scholarly books and journal articles. These are written for an audience of specialists in a given field.

Regardless of what type of expository text you are assigned to read, your primary comprehension goal is to identify the main point : the most important idea that the writer wants to communicate and often states early on. Finding the main point gives you a framework to organize the details presented in the reading and relate the reading to concepts you learned in class or through other reading assignments. After identifying the main point, you will find the supporting points , the details, facts, and explanations that develop and clarify the main point.

Some texts make that task relatively easy. Textbooks, for instance, include the aforementioned features as well as headings and subheadings intended to make it easier for students to identify core concepts. Graphic features, such as sidebars, diagrams, and charts, help students understand complex information and distinguish between essential and inessential points. When you are assigned to read from a textbook, be sure to use available comprehension aids to help you identify the main points.

Trade books and popular articles may not be written specifically for an educational purpose; nevertheless, they also include features that can help you identify the main ideas. These features include the following:

• Trade books. Many trade books include an introduction that presents the writer’s main ideas and purpose for writing. Reading chapter titles (and any subtitles within the chapter) will help you get a broad sense of what is covered. It also helps to read the beginning and ending paragraphs of a chapter closely. These paragraphs often sum up the main ideas presented.
• Popular articles. Reading the headings and introductory paragraphs carefully is crucial. In magazine articles, these features (along with the closing paragraphs) present the main concepts. Hard news articles in newspapers present the gist of the news story in the lead paragraph, while subsequent paragraphs present increasingly general details.

At the far end of the reading difficulty scale are scholarly books and journal articles. Because these texts are written for a specialized, highly educated audience, the authors presume their readers are already familiar with the topic. The language and writing style is sophisticated and sometimes dense.

When you read scholarly books and journal articles, try to apply the same strategies discussed earlier. The introduction usually presents the writer’s thesis , the idea or hypothesis the writer is trying to prove. Headings and subheadings can help you understand how the writer has organized support for his or her thesis. Additionally, academic journal articles often include a summary at the beginning, called an abstract, and electronic databases include summaries of articles, too.

Monitoring Your Comprehension

Finding the main idea and paying attention to text features as you read helps you figure out what you should know. Just as important, however, is being able to figure out what you do not know and developing a strategy to deal with it.

Textbooks often include comprehension questions in the margins or at the end of a section or chapter. As you read, stop occasionally to answer these questions on paper or in your head. Use them to identify sections you may need to reread, read more carefully, or ask your instructor about later.

Even when a text does not have built-in comprehension features, you can actively monitor your own comprehension. Try these strategies, adapting them as needed to suit different kinds of texts:

• Summarize. At the end of each section, pause to summarize the main points in a few sentences. If you have trouble doing so, revisit that section.
• Ask and answer questions. When you begin reading a section, try to identify two to three questions you should be able to answer after you finish it. Write down your questions and use them to test yourself on the reading. If you cannot answer a question, try to determine why. Is the answer buried in that section of reading but just not coming across to you? Or do you expect to find the answer in another part of the reading?
• Do not read in a vacuum. Look for opportunities to discuss the reading with your classmates. Many instructors set up online discussion forums or blogs specifically for that purpose. Participating in these discussions can help you determine whether your understanding of the main points is the same as your peers’.

These discussions can also serve as a reality check. If everyone in the class struggled with the reading, it may be exceptionally challenging. If it was a breeze for everyone but you, you may need to see your instructor for help.

As a working mother, Crystal found that the best time to get her reading done was in the evening, after she had put her four-year-old to bed. However, she occasionally had trouble concentrating at the end of a long day. She found that by actively working to summarize the reading and asking and answering questions, she focused better and retained more of what she read. She also found that evenings were a good time to check the class discussion forums that a few of her instructors had created.

Choose any text that that you have been assigned to read for one of your college courses. In your notes, complete the following tasks:

• Summarize the main points of the text in two to three sentences.
• Write down two to three questions about the text that you can bring up during class discussion.

Students are often reluctant to seek help. They feel like doing so marks them as slow, weak, or demanding. The truth is, every learner occasionally struggles. If you are sincerely trying to keep up with the course reading but feel like you are in over your head, seek out help. Speak up in class, schedule a meeting with your instructor, or visit your university learning center for assistance.

Deal with the problem as early in the semester as you can. Instructors respect students who are proactive about their own learning. Most instructors will work hard to help students who make the effort to help themselves.

Taking It to the Next Level: Active Reading

Now that you have acquainted (or reacquainted) yourself with useful planning and comprehension strategies, college reading assignments may feel more manageable. You know what you need to do to get your reading done and make sure you grasp the main points. However, the most successful students in college are not only competent readers but active, engaged readers.

Using the SQ3R Strategy

One strategy you can use to become a more active, engaged reader is the SQ3R strategy , a step-by-step process to follow before, during, and after reading. You may already use some variation of it. In essence, the process works like this:

• Survey the text in advance.
• Form questions before you start reading.
• Read the text.
• Recite and/or record important points during and after reading.
• Review and reflect on the text after you read.

Before you read, you survey, or preview, the text. As noted earlier, reading introductory paragraphs and headings can help you begin to figure out the author’s main point and identify what important topics will be covered. However, surveying does not stop there. Look over sidebars, photographs, and any other text or graphic features that catch your eye. Skim a few paragraphs. Preview any boldfaced or italicized vocabulary terms. This will help you form a first impression of the material.

Next, start brainstorming questions about the text. What do you expect to learn from the reading? You may find that some questions come to mind immediately based on your initial survey or based on previous readings and class discussions. If not, try using headings and subheadings in the text to formulate questions. For instance, if one heading in your textbook reads “Medicare and Medicaid,” you might ask yourself these questions:

• When was Medicare and Medicaid legislation enacted? Why?
• What are the major differences between these two programs?

Although some of your questions may be simple factual questions, try to come up with a few that are more open-ended. Asking in-depth questions will help you stay more engaged as you read.

The next step is simple: read. As you read, notice whether your first impressions of the text were correct. Are the author’s main points and overall approach about the same as what you predicted—or does the text contain a few surprises? Also, look for answers to your earlier questions and begin forming new questions. Continue to revise your impressions and questions as you read.

While you are reading, pause occasionally to recite or record important points. It is best to do this at the end of each section or when there is an obvious shift in the writer’s train of thought. Put the book aside for a moment and recite aloud the main points of the section or any important answers you found there. You might also record ideas by jotting down a few brief notes in addition to, or instead of, reciting aloud. Either way, the physical act of articulating information makes you more likely to remember it.

After you have completed the reading, take some time to review the material more thoroughly. If the textbook includes review questions or your instructor has provided a study guide, use these tools to guide your review. You will want to record information in a more detailed format than you used during reading, such as in an outline or a list.

As you review the material, reflect on what you learned. Did anything surprise you, upset you, or make you think? Did you find yourself strongly agreeing or disagreeing with any points in the text? What topics would you like to explore further? Jot down your reflections in your notes. (Instructors sometimes require students to write brief response papers or maintain a reading journal. Use these assignments to help you reflect on what you read.)

Choose another text that that you have been assigned to read for a class. Use the SQ3R process to complete the reading. (Keep in mind that you may need to spread the reading over more than one session, especially if the text is long.)

Be sure to complete all the steps involved. Then, reflect on how helpful you found this process. On a scale of one to ten, how useful did you find it? How does it compare with other study techniques you have used?

Using Other Active Reading Strategies

The SQ3R process encompasses a number of valuable active reading strategies: previewing a text, making predictions, asking and answering questions, and summarizing. You can use the following additional strategies to further deepen your understanding of what you read.

• Connect what you read to what you already know. Look for ways the reading supports, extends, or challenges concepts you have learned elsewhere.
• Relate the reading to your own life. What statements, people, or situations relate to your personal experiences?
• Visualize. For both fiction and nonfiction texts, try to picture what is described. Visualizing is especially helpful when you are reading a narrative text, such as a novel or a historical account, or when you read expository text that describes a process, such as how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
• Pay attention to graphics as well as text. Photographs, diagrams, flow charts, tables, and other graphics can help make abstract ideas more concrete and understandable.
• Understand the text in context. Understanding context means thinking about who wrote the text, when and where it was written, the author’s purpose for writing it, and what assumptions or agendas influenced the author’s ideas. For instance, two writers might both address the subject of health care reform, but if one article is an opinion piece and one is a news story, the context is different.
• Plan to talk or write about what you read. Jot down a few questions or comments in your notebook so you can bring them up in class. (This also gives you a source of topic ideas for papers and presentations later in the semester.) Discuss the reading on a class discussion board or blog about it.

As Crystal began her first semester of elementary education courses, she occasionally felt lost in a sea of new terms and theories about teaching and child development. She found that it helped to relate the reading to her personal observations of her son and other kids she knew.

Writing at Work

Many college courses require students to participate in interactive online components, such as a discussion forum, a page on a social networking site, or a class blog. These tools are a great way to reinforce learning. Do not be afraid to be the student who starts the discussion.

Remember that when you interact with other students and teachers online, you need to project a mature, professional image. You may be able to use an informal, conversational tone, but complaining about the work load, using off-color language, or “flaming” other participants is inappropriate.

Active reading can benefit you in ways that go beyond just earning good grades. By practicing these strategies, you will find yourself more interested in your courses and better able to relate your academic work to the rest of your life. Being an interested, engaged student also helps you form lasting connections with your instructors and with other students that can be personally and professionally valuable. In short, it helps you get the most out of your education.

Common Writing Assignments

College writing assignments serve a different purpose than the typical writing assignments you completed in high school. In high school, teachers generally focus on teaching you to write in a variety of modes and formats, including personal writing, expository writing, research papers, creative writing, and writing short answers and essays for exams. Over time, these assignments help you build a foundation of writing skills.

In college, many instructors will expect you to already have that foundation.

Your college composition courses will focus on writing for its own sake, helping you make the transition to college-level writing assignments. However, in most other college courses, writing assignments serve a different purpose. In those courses, you may use writing as one tool among many for learning how to think about a particular academic discipline.

Additionally, certain assignments teach you how to meet the expectations for professional writing in a given field. Depending on the class, you might be asked to write a lab report, a case study, a literary analysis, a business plan, or an account of a personal interview. You will need to learn and follow the standard conventions for those types of written products.

Finally, personal and creative writing assignments are less common in college than in high school. College courses emphasize expository writing, writing that explains or informs. Often expository writing assignments will incorporate outside research, too. Some classes will also require persuasive writing assignments in which you state and support your position on an issue. College instructors will hold you to a higher standard when it comes to supporting your ideas with reasons and evidence.

Table 1.2 “Common Types of College Writing Assignments” lists some of the most common types of college writing assignments. It includes minor, less formal assignments as well as major ones. Which specific assignments you encounter will depend on the courses you take and the learning objectives developed by your instructors.

Table 1.2 Common Types of College Writing Assignments

WRITING AT WORK

Part of managing your education is communicating well with others at your university. For instance, you might need to e-mail your instructor to request an office appointment or explain why you will need to miss a class. You might need to contact administrators with questions about your tuition or financial aid. Later, you might ask instructors to write recommendations on your behalf.

Treat these documents as professional communications. Address the recipient politely; state your question, problem, or request clearly; and use a formal, respectful tone. Doing so helps you make a positive impression and get a quicker response.

Key Takeaways

• College-level reading and writing assignments differ from high school assignments not only in quantity but also in quality.
• Managing college reading assignments successfully requires you to plan and manage your time, set a purpose for reading, practice effective comprehension strategies, and use active reading strategies to deepen your understanding of the text.
• College writing assignments place greater emphasis on learning to think critically about a particular discipline and less emphasis on personal and creative writing.
• Authored by : Indigo Eriksen. Provided by : Blue Ridge Community College. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Introduction to Writing. Authored by : Anonymous. Provided by : Anonymous. Located at : http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/successful-writing/s05-01-reading-and-writing-in-college.html . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Table of Contents

Instructor Resources (Access Requires Login)

• Overview of Instructor Resources

An Overview of the Writing Process

• Introduction to the Writing Process
• Your Role as a Learner
• What is an Essay?
• Reading to Write
• Defining the Writing Process
• Videos: Prewriting Techniques
• Thesis Statements
• Organizing an Essay
• Creating Paragraphs
• Conclusions
• Editing and Proofreading
• Matters of Grammar, Mechanics, and Style
• Peer Review Checklist
• Comparative Chart of Writing Strategies

Using Sources

• Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Avoiding Plagiarism
• Formatting the Works Cited Page (MLA)
• Citing Paraphrases and Summaries (APA)
• APA Citation Style, 6th edition: General Style Guidelines

Definition Essay

• Definitional Argument Essay
• How to Write a Definition Essay
• Critical Thinking
• Video: Thesis Explained
• Effective Thesis Statements
• Student Sample: Definition Essay

Narrative Essay

• Introduction to Narrative Essay
• Student Sample: Narrative Essay
• "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell
• "Sixty-nine Cents" by Gary Shteyngart
• Video: The Danger of a Single Story
• How to Write an Annotation
• How to Write a Summary
• Writing for Success: Narration

Illustration/Example Essay

• Introduction to Illustration/Example Essay
• "She's Your Basic L.O.L. in N.A.D" by Perri Klass
• "April & Paris" by David Sedaris
• Writing for Success: Illustration/Example
• Student Sample: Illustration/Example Essay

Compare/Contrast Essay

• Introduction to Compare/Contrast Essay
• "Disability" by Nancy Mairs
• "Friending, Ancient or Otherwise" by Alex Wright
• "A South African Storm" by Allison Howard
• Writing for Success: Compare/Contrast
• Student Sample: Compare/Contrast Essay

Cause-and-Effect Essay

• Introduction to Cause-and-Effect Essay
• "Cultural Baggage" by Barbara Ehrenreich
• "Women in Science" by K.C. Cole
• Writing for Success: Cause and Effect
• Student Sample: Cause-and-Effect Essay

Argument Essay

• Introduction to Argument Essay
• Rogerian Argument
• "The Case Against Torture," by Alisa Soloman
• "The Case for Torture" by Michael Levin
• How to Write a Summary by Paraphrasing Source Material
• Writing for Success: Argument
• Student Sample: Argument Essay
• Grammar/Mechanics Mini-lessons
• Mini-lesson: Subjects and Verbs, Irregular Verbs, Subject Verb Agreement
• Mini-lesson: Sentence Types
• Mini-lesson: Fragments I
• Mini-lesson: Run-ons and Comma Splices I
• Mini-lesson: Comma Usage
• Mini-lesson: Parallelism
• Mini-lesson: The Apostrophe
• Mini-lesson: Capital Letters
• Grammar Practice - Interactive Quizzes
• De Copia - Demonstration of the Variety of Language
• Style Exercise: Voice

Module 1: Success Skills

Writing in college, learning objectives.

• Describe effective methods for approaching different kinds of college writing assignments

The Importance of Writing in the Workplace

In 2010, a survey of employers conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that 89 percent of employers say that colleges and universities should place more emphasis on “the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing.” [1] It was the single-most favored skill in this survey.

In addition, several of the other valued skills are grounded in written communication:

• “Critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills” (81 percent)
• “The ability to analyze and solve complex problems” (75 percent)
• “The ability to locate, organize, and evaluate information from multiple sources” (68 percent).

This emphasis on communication probably reflects the changing reality of work. Employers also reported that employees will have to “take on more responsibilities,” “use a broader set of skills,” “work harder to coordinate with other departments,” face “more complex” challenges, and mobilize “higher levels of learning and knowledge.” [2]

The pay-off from improving your writing comes much sooner than graduation. Suppose you complete about 40 classes for a 120-credit bachelors’ degree, and—averaging across writing-intensive and non-writing-intensive courses—you produce about 2,500 words of formal writing per class. Even with that low estimate, you’ll write 100,000 words during your college career. That’s roughly equivalent to a 330-page book.

Spending a few hours sharpening your writing skills will make those 100,000 words much easier and more rewarding to write. Even your non-English professors care about and appreciate good writing.

Understanding the Assignment

There are four kinds of analysis you need to do in order to fully understand an assignment: determining its purpose, understanding how to answer an assignment’s questions, recognizing implied questions in the assignment, and recognizing the expectations of the assignment, which vary depending on the discipline and subject matter. Always make sure you fully understand an assignment before you start writing!

Determine the Purpose

The wording of an assignment should suggest its purpose. Any of the following might be expected of you in a college writing assignment:

• Summarizing information
• Analyzing ideas and concepts
• Taking a position and defending it
• Combining ideas from several sources and creating your own original argument.

Understand How to Respond

College writing assignments will ask you to answer a  how  or  why  question – questions that can’t be answered with just facts. For example, the question “ What  are the names of the presidents of the US in the last twenty years?” needs only a list of facts to be answered. The question “ Who  was the best president of the last twenty years and  why?”  requires you to take a position and support that position with evidence.

Sometimes, a list of prompts may appear with an assignment. Usually, your instructor will not expect you to answer all of the questions listed. They are simply offering you some ideas so that you can think of your own questions to ask.

Recognize Implied Questions

A prompt may not include a clear ‘how’ or ‘why’ question, though one is always implied by the language of the prompt. For example:

“Discuss the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act on special education programs” is asking you to write  how  the act has affected special education programs. “Consider the recent rise of autism diagnoses” is asking you to write  why  the diagnoses of autism are on the rise.

Getting Started

Before beginning the writing process, always establish the following:

• Is there an assigned topic or are you free to choose your own?
• What about your subject interests you?
• Why is your subject worth reading about?
• Double-check that your subject is not too broad – narrow it down if necessary.
• Determine the purpose of the work.
• Determine the readers of the work and their level of knowledge about the topic.
• Determine where your evidence will come from.
• Decide what kind of evidence would best serve your argument.
• Identify the required style (MLA, APA, etc.) of the paper.
• Be aware of length specifications.
• Consider if visuals might be helpful in your paper.
• Will someone be reviewing drafts of your paper? Who?
• Note your deadline and how much time you have for each stage of the writing process.

This Assignment Calculator can help you plan ahead for your writing assignment. Just plug in the date you plan to get started and the date it is due, and it will help break it down into manageable chunks.

Recognize Expectations

Depending on the discipline in which you are writing, different features and formats of your writing may be expected. Always look closely at key terms and vocabulary in the writing assignment, and be sure to note what type of evidence and citations style your instructor expects.

A research Tip: Avoiding Plagiarism

All college classes will expect you to do your own work. Using another person’s words, images, or other original creations without giving proper credit is called plagiarism .

Oftentimes, as we prepare to address an assignment, we look at other material to help us with our thinking. This is research, and it’s a great thing! Professors always do research! When we do research to help us clarify our thinking, however, we need to be sure to acknowledge the sources that we have consulted and the ways in which our ideas have been influenced by others.

We use different citation guides (like APA and MLA) to format citations and lists of references. Sometimes students aren’t sure how to do these references correctly, and so they leave out the citations altogether. That’s never a good idea. Even if you aren’t sure how to create a perfect citation, always include references to all the material you’ve consulted. Otherwise, you could be committing plagiarism: taking someone else’s work (words and/or ideas) and presenting it as your own—the equivalent of cheating on a test. In order to be sure you don’t accidentally leave out a source, remember to keep track of what you consult as you begin research for a project or assignment.

The Writing Process

Have you ever received a writing assignment, thought “this won’t take long” and then stayed up all night writing the night before your assignment was due because it ended up taking a lot longer than you thought it would? If you have, you’re not alone. Many beginning writers struggle to plan well when it comes to a writing assignment, and this results in writing that is just not as good as it could be. When you wait until the last minute and fail to engage in every step of the writing process, you’re not doing your best work.

Writing itself is a process through which you ask questions; create, develop, hone, and organize ideas; argue a point; search for evidence to support your ideas…and so on. The point here is that writing really involves creative and critical thinking processes. Like any creative process, it often starts in a jumble as you develop, sort, and sift through ideas. But it doesn’t need to stay in disarray. Your writing will gain direction as you start examining those ideas. It just doesn’t happen all at once. Writing is a process that happens over time. And like any process, there are certain steps or stages.

Figure 1 . Writing is a recursive process, meaning that you will work through most of these steps, but not necessarily in this exact order, and revisit most of them throughout the process.

These are some of the major stages in a strong writing process:

• Thinking about your assignment
• Gathering information and evidence
• Organizing and drafting
• Revising and editing

The writing process is not linear, but recursive, meaning you will need to move forward through some steps and then circle back to redo previous steps. In other words, while we still think of writing as a process taking place in a series of steps, we now understand that good writers tend to switch frequently among the different steps as they work. An insight gained while editing one chapter might convince the writer that an additional chapter is needed; as a result, she might start another drafting phase—or even decide to divide one chapter into two or three, and begin reorganizing and developing new drafts.

In short, while it is very useful to think of writing as a process, the process is not a clear, always-the-same series of steps. Instead, it is a sometimes messy, forward-and-backward process in which you strive for simplicity but try to appeal to your audience, create but also organize, enjoy yourself, if possible, but also follow some rules, and eventually create a finished product that works.

Writing Through Fear

Writing is an activity that can cause occasional anxiety for anyone, even professional writers. Start early and use strategies, like those mentioned below, to help you work through the anxiety.

Writing Anxiety

The following essay about writing anxiety, by Hillary Wentworth, from the Walden Writing Center, offers insight about how to handle issues surrounding writer’s block:

I suppose fall is the perfect time to discuss fear. The leaves are falling, the nights are getting longer, and the kids are preparing ghoulish costumes and tricks for Halloween.

Figure 2 . Don’t let fears get in the way of your writing assignment—there are tips and tools that can help!

So here’s my scary story: A few weeks ago, I sat down at my computer to revise an essay draft for an upcoming deadline. This is old hat for me; it’s what I do in my personal life as a creative writer, and it’s what I do in my professional life as a Walden Writing Center instructor. As I was skimming through it, though, a feeling of dread settled in my stomach, I began to sweat, and my pulse raced. I was having full-on panic. About my writing.

This had never happened to me before. Sure, I have been disappointed in my writing, frustrated that I couldn’t get an idea perfectly on paper, but not completely fear-stricken. I Xed out of the Word document and watched Orange Is the New Black on Netflix because I couldn’t look at the essay anymore. My mind was too clouded for anything productive to happen. The experience got me thinking about the role that fear plays in the writing process. Sometimes fear can be a great motivator. It might make us read many more articles than are truly necessary, just so we feel prepared enough to articulate a concept. It might make us stay up into the wee hours to proofread an assignment. But sometimes fear can lead to paralysis. Perhaps your anxiety doesn’t manifest itself as panic at the computer; it could be that you worry about the assignment many days—or even weeks—before it is due.

Here are some tips to help: 

• Interrogate your fear . Ask yourself why you are afraid. Is it because you fear failure, success, or judgment? Has it been a while since you’ve written academically, and so this new style of writing is mysterious to you?
• Write through it . We all know the best way to work through a problem is to confront it. So sit at your desk, look at the screen, and write. You might not even write your assignment at first. Type anything—a reflection on your day, why writing gives you anxiety, your favorite foods. Sitting there and typing will help you become more comfortable with the prospect of more.
• Give it a rest . This was my approach. After realizing that I was having an adverse reaction, I called it quits for the day, which ultimately helped reset my brain.
• Find comfort in ritual and reward . Getting comfortable with writing might involve establishing a ritual (a time of day, a place, a song, a warm-up activity, or even food or drink) to get yourself into the writing zone. If you accomplish a goal or write for a set amount of time, reward yourself.
• Remember that knowledge is power. Sometimes the only way to assuage our fear is to know more. Perhaps you want to learn about the writing process to make it less intimidating. Check out the Writing Center’s website for tips and tutorials that will increase your confidence. You can also always ask your instructor questions about the assignment.
• Break it down. If you feel overwhelmed about the amount of pages or the vastness of the assignment, break it up into small chunks. For example, write one little section of the paper at a time.
• Buddy up. Maybe you just need someone with whom to share your fears—and your writing. Ask a classmate to be a study buddy or join an eCampus group.

Link to Learning

The writing centers at the  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  and the  University of Richmond , as well as the news site  Inside Higher Ed , also have helpful articles on writing anxiety.

• Hart Research Associates. Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn . 20 Jan 2010, p. 9. ↵
• Ibid., p. 5. ↵
• The Writing Process Image. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Modification, adaptation, and original content. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Understanding the Assignment and Assessing the Writing Situation . Authored by : Robin Jeffrey. Located at : https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/aboutwriting/chapter/understanding-the-assignment/ . Project : About Writing: A Guide. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Paragraph on recursive writing. Authored by : Marianne Botos, Lynn McClelland, Stephanie Polliard, Pamela Osback . Located at : https://pvccenglish.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/eng-101-inside-pages-proof2-no-pro.pdf . Project : Horse of a Different Color: English Composition and Rhetoric . License : CC BY: Attribution
• The Writing Process. Authored by : Excelsior OWL. Located at : https://owl.excelsior.edu/writing-process/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Really? Writing? Again?. Authored by : Amy Guptill. Provided by : The College at Brockport, SUNY Open Textbooks. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Writing Through Fear. Authored by : Hillary Wentworth. Provided by : Walden Writing Center. Located at : http://waldenwritingcenter.blogspot.com/2013/10/writing-through-fear.html . License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
• Image of tree. Authored by : Broo_am (Andy B). Located at : https://flic.kr/p/dHcmy5 . License : CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
• Avoiding Plagiarism. Authored by : Cengage Learning. Located at : https://florida.theorangegrove.org/og/file/86100f79-955b-41f8-ac7f-7f3906ea0128/1/CengageOpenNow_CollegeSuccessNarrative.pdf . Project : Open Now College Success. License : CC BY: Attribution

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Common Writing Assignments

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These OWL resources will help you understand and complete specific types of writing assignments, such as annotated bibliographies, book reports, and research papers. This section also includes resources on writing academic proposals for conference presentations, journal articles, and books.

Understanding Writing Assignments

This resource describes some steps you can take to better understand the requirements of your writing assignments. This resource works for either in-class, teacher-led discussion or for personal use.

Argument Papers

This resource outlines the generally accepted structure for introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions in an academic argument paper. Keep in mind that this resource contains guidelines and not strict rules about organization. Your structure needs to be flexible enough to meet the requirements of your purpose and audience.

Research Papers

This handout provides detailed information about how to write research papers including discussing research papers as a genre, choosing topics, and finding sources.

Exploratory Papers

This resource will help you with exploratory/inquiry essay assignments.

Annotated Bibliographies

This handout provides information about annotated bibliographies in MLA, APA, and CMS.

Book Report

This resource discusses book reports and how to write them.

Definitions

This handout provides suggestions and examples for writing definitions.

Essays for Exams

While most OWL resources recommend a longer writing process (start early, revise often, conduct thorough research, etc.), sometimes you just have to write quickly in test situations. However, these exam essays can be no less important pieces of writing than research papers because they can influence final grades for courses, and/or they can mean the difference between getting into an academic program (GED, SAT, GRE). To that end, this resource will help you prepare and write essays for exams.

Book Review

This resource discusses book reviews and how to write them.

Academic Proposals

This resource will help undergraduate, graduate, and professional scholars write proposals for academic conferences, articles, and books.

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1.5: Common Writing Assignments

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College writing assignments serve a different purpose than the typical writing assignments you completed in high school. In high school, teachers generally focus on teaching you to write in a variety of modes and formats, including personal writing, expository writing, research papers, creative writing, and writing short answers and essays for exams. Over time, these assignments help you build a foundation of writing skills.

In college, many instructors will expect you to already have that foundation.

Your college composition courses will focus on writing for its own sake, helping you make the transition to college-level writing assignments. However, in most other college courses, writing assignments serve a different purpose. In those courses, you may use writing as one tool among many for learning how to think about a particular academic discipline.

Additionally, certain assignments teach you how to meet the expectations for professional writing in a given field. Depending on the class, you might be asked to write a lab report, a case study, a literary analysis, a business plan, or an account of a personal interview. You will need to learn and follow the standard conventions for those types of written products.

Finally, personal and creative writing assignments are less common in college than in high school. College courses emphasize expository writing, writing that explains or informs. Often expository writing assignments will incorporate outside research, too. Some classes will also require persuasive writing assignments in which you state and support your position on an issue. College instructors will hold you to a higher standard when it comes to supporting your ideas with reasons and evidence.

Table 1.2 “Common Types of College Writing Assignments” lists some of the most common types of college writing assignments. It includes minor, less formal assignments as well as major ones. Which specific assignments you encounter will depend on the courses you take and the learning objectives developed by your instructors.

writing at work

Part of managing your education is communicating well with others at your university. For instance, you might need to e-mail your instructor to request an office appointment or explain why you will need to miss a class. You might need to contact administrators with questions about your tuition or financial aid. Later, you might ask instructors to write recommendations on your behalf.

Treat these documents as professional communications. Address the recipient politely; state your question, problem, or request clearly; and use a formal, respectful tone. Doing so helps you make a positive impression and get a quicker response.

key takeaways

• College-level reading and writing assignments differ from high school assignments not only in quantity but also in quality.
• Managing college reading assignments successfully requires you to plan and manage your time, set a purpose for reading, practice effective comprehension strategies, and use active reading strategies to deepen your understanding of the text.
• College writing assignments place greater emphasis on learning to think critically about a particular discipline and less emphasis on personal and creative writing

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What to Expect From a College English Class

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How to write a college critical thinking essay, what topics are covered in college remedial reading, what are the essential parts of a college essay.

• Reading Improvement Activities for College Students
• Differences Between a Book Report & Essay Writing

It may come as a surprise that your college English journey will go beyond interpreting texts, summarizing stories and reading poetry. In fact, you should expect to perform several tasks in a college English course, including conducting close readings on assigned texts, composing research essays and analyses, developing critical-thinking skills and learning the appropriate ways to revise your papers.

Throughout the semester, you will be expected to perform close readings of various texts, such as poetry, essays or works of fiction and nonfiction. Close reading involves dissecting and interpreting specific details or excerpts from a text. For example, if you're doing a close reading on a work of fiction, symbols and metaphors are just two of the components you will carefully evaluate.

College writing assignments delve beyond summarizing or simply interpreting what you have read in a text. In fact, according to the University of Chicago, the fundamental part of writing assignments in a college English course is based on arguments. To develop an argument, you will be expected to focus on a narrow topic for your paper. For instance, if you choose to write an analysis of a particular character, you will need to write a single claim or accusation about that character (for example, Nelly Dean is not a trustworthy narrator in "Wuthering Heights"). You will then support your argument with evidence and examples from the text.

Paper revisions are common in college English courses, and they involve more than simply proofreading for grammatical errors. According to the University of Washington, revising your paper will improve not only your writing skills, but your reading and analytical skills as well. A college English course will teach you the necessary rules for revising papers, which include learning to evaluate your arguments, knowing how to identify whether the evidence appropriately supports your claims and understanding whether the paper answers all the questions the reader might have about your topic.

Taking Exams

Many college English exams do not contain typical multiple-choice or true-false questions. Rather, you may be asked specific questions on class reading assignments and be required to answer those question in essay form. For example, you may be asked to compare and contrast scenes and characters from a book or even analyze the psychology of certain authors, providing specific evidence from the class readings in your answers. Conversely, some English instructors may not even assign exams at all during the semester, but instead expect students to complete a final essay project, typically between 10 and 15 pages.

How to Write a Good College Level Essay

Do i print or hand-write an essay, keys to writing a reflection paper, what are the similarities of persuasive and narrative essays, strategies for critical reading for college students, compare & contrast essay structure, student learning objectives for the ged, what does it mean to cite specific examples, how to be successful in ap literature & composition, most popular.

• 1 How to Write a Good College Level Essay
• 2 Do I Print or Hand-Write an Essay?
• 3 Keys to Writing a Reflection Paper
• 4 What Are the Similarities of Persuasive and Narrative Essays?

Six Tips to Prepare Students for College Writing Courses

Many students, often with different majors outside the humanities, end up taking a required sequence of first-year college composition courses during their first year in college. Much of the time, students feel a sense of dread or apathy towards writing in general. A majority of my students in their diagnostic essays (about their strengths and weaknesses) tell me that the act of sitting down at a computer for several hours and trying to come up with the right words and sentences can be a daunting task. Here are a few helpful tips I would give to students preparing for first-year composition. If you teach high school writing, these tips would be helpful to practice early on with students to prepare them for these first-year composition courses. 

Change your thinking, mindset, and routine. 

Don’t fear writing. Instead, think of a composition class as an opportunity to improve your reading comprehension, critical thinking, and writing ability in both an academic and professional setting. These skills benefit you no matter your field of interest. Once you see its value, are you then willing to work hard and do everything you can to meet your goals? Can you allow yourself to make mistakes but see how those mistakes can help refine your writing with more practice and experience? Adjust your approach. Look at things with an open mind. Will you ask for help when needed? Are you actively seeking out every possible resource that your school has to offer (success center, resource center, library services, online tutoring, student services)? Make choices that put you in the best position to thrive. Does this mean sacrificing time with friends and family? Does it mean scheduling some time at the writing center or with an online tutor? Or does it mean sending your instructor an e-mail about your writing concerns? If you want to give yourself the best chance to succeed, then the answer to these questions is an emphatic “Yes!”

Read the course syllabus. 

Reread it again if you must. No, seriously. Please read it a few times. More often than not, a question you may have about the course (especially within the first week or so) can be found here. Have the syllabus close by for reference and highlight specific parts or lines that are important. This may include your instructor’s contact information (e-mail, phone number, office/virtual hours), course policies (late work, plagiarism, formatting requirements), course materials (textbooks, workbooks, login/access codes, and links), weekly course schedules (assignments and due dates), and specific directions for assignments (requirements and style).

Do all of the required reading and homework assignments. 

Block off some time each day—or whenever your schedule allows—to work on your course assignments (write down due dates in a planner). Allow yourself enough time to thoroughly review, comprehend, and complete the coursework. This isn’t just to get a good grade. Writing is recursive. Each assignment in a course is scaffolded and builds upon each other. For example, you might not be able to master the end-of-module summative assessment (high stakes) such as a three-to-four-page descriptive essay, unless you are doing the formative assessments (low stakes) each week in order to understand and practice implementing the five senses into your writing. Be an active learner and ask questions to yourself, your instructor, or your classmates about the course materials. Treat school and these assignments as a full-time job. Put the time and effort into every reading and writing assignment.

Know the intent of each assignment. 

Carefully review the directions on the assignment sheet (pay close attention to action words, keywords, and rules), and sometimes a posted writing sample of what the instructor is looking for in a particular assignment. Are you clear about the assignment’s expectations? Be sure you have a well-developed plan that answers what the assignment is asking of you. For instance, there are usually several questions (and subset questions) listed on the assignment sheet. They are there for a reason and should be clearly addressed in your writing. The questions will allow you to often consider content, rhetorical elements, situation, audience, purpose, point of view, organization, style, and theme.

Prepare a rough draft for all major essays, even if it isn’t required. 

This might take some extra time and effort, but you can receive really valuable feedback from your instructor, success/writing center, study group, or online tutoring service. The more eyes that review your essay, the better. This can help you identify issues with content, organization, and style. If you address these problems for the final essay, you are most likely going to see a higher grade because your final product is more polished. Good writing doesn’t happen in an instant, it usually takes some time to mature as a writer. Writing one, two, or even three rough drafts before the final draft is due is a great way to practice and enhance your skills.

Reach out to your instructor. 

E-mail, Zoom, or a learning management system message are all ways you can get in contact with your instructor. Always keep them informed of any problems you are having that might affect your performance in the class. Such issues might include asking to turn in a late assignment, illness, not understanding an assignment, or an inability to begin the writing process. Instructors have issues come up as well and are most likely open to working with you. If you don’t immediately notify your instructor of an issue, there might not be enough time to make arrangements, and it could end up hurting your overall grade in the class. It never hurts to simply ask.

These tips will set any student up for success in their first year of college. But they do require students to take initiative, ownership, and responsibility for their learning– which takes practice and support to reach autonomy. The more practice students can get with these tips before entering their college writing courses, the better prepared and more successful they will be. 

John Hansen

John Hansen received a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Iowa and a master's degree in English literature from Oklahoma State University. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Summerset Review, One Sentence Poems, The Dillydoun Review, Schuylkill Valley Journal, Eunoia Review, Litro Magazine, Wild Roof Journal, The Banyan Review, Drunk Monkeys, and elsewhere. He has presented on a variety of topics at The National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC—Regional), The American Comparative Literature Association, The Midwest Conference on British Studies, and others. He is an English faculty member at Mohave Community College in Arizona. Read more at johnphansen.com .

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These tips are helpful. Appreciate the information. I’ll be using them with my students as well.

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How to write the best college assignments.

By Lois Weldon

When it comes to writing assignments, it is difficult to find a conceptualized guide with clear and simple tips that are easy to follow. That’s exactly what this guide will provide: few simple tips on how to write great assignments, right when you need them. Some of these points will probably be familiar to you, but there is no harm in being reminded of the most important things before you start writing the assignments, which are usually determining on your credits.

The most important aspects: Outline and Introduction

Preparation is the key to success, especially when it comes to academic assignments. It is recommended to always write an outline before you start writing the actual assignment. The outline should include the main points of discussion, which will keep you focused throughout the work and will make your key points clearly defined. Outlining the assignment will save you a lot of time because it will organize your thoughts and make your literature searches much easier. The outline will also help you to create different sections and divide up the word count between them, which will make the assignment more organized.

The introduction is the next important part you should focus on. This is the part that defines the quality of your assignment in the eyes of the reader. The introduction must include a brief background on the main points of discussion, the purpose of developing such work and clear indications on how the assignment is being organized. Keep this part brief, within one or two paragraphs.

This is an example of including the above mentioned points into the introduction of an assignment that elaborates the topic of obesity reaching proportions:

Background : The twenty first century is characterized by many public health challenges, among which obesity takes a major part. The increasing prevalence of obesity is creating an alarming situation in both developed and developing regions of the world.

Structure and aim : This assignment will elaborate and discuss the specific pattern of obesity epidemic development, as well as its epidemiology. Debt, trade and globalization will also be analyzed as factors that led to escalation of the problem. Moreover, the assignment will discuss the governmental interventions that make efforts to address this issue.

Practical tips on assignment writing

Here are some practical tips that will keep your work focused and effective:

–         Critical thinking – Academic writing has to be characterized by critical thinking, not only to provide the work with the needed level, but also because it takes part in the final mark.

–         Continuity of ideas – When you get to the middle of assignment, things can get confusing. You have to make sure that the ideas are flowing continuously within and between paragraphs, so the reader will be enabled to follow the argument easily. Dividing the work in different paragraphs is very important for this purpose.

–         Usage of ‘you’ and ‘I’ – According to the academic writing standards, the assignments should be written in an impersonal language, which means that the usage of ‘you’ and ‘I’ should be avoided. The only acceptable way of building your arguments is by using opinions and evidence from authoritative sources.

–         Referencing – this part of the assignment is extremely important and it takes a big part in the final mark. Make sure to use either Vancouver or Harvard referencing systems, and use the same system in the bibliography and while citing work of other sources within the text.  

–         Usage of examples – A clear understanding on your assignment’s topic should be provided by comparing different sources and identifying their strengths and weaknesses in an objective manner. This is the part where you should show how the knowledge can be applied into practice.

–         Numbering and bullets – Instead of using numbering and bullets, the academic writing style prefers the usage of paragraphs.

–         Including figures and tables – The figures and tables are an effective way of conveying information to the reader in a clear manner, without disturbing the word count. Each figure and table should have clear headings and you should make sure to mention their sources in the bibliography.

–         Word count – the word count of your assignment mustn’t be far above or far below the required word count. The outline will provide you with help in this aspect, so make sure to plan the work in order to keep it within the boundaries.

The importance of an effective conclusion

The conclusion of your assignment is your ultimate chance to provide powerful arguments that will impress the reader. The conclusion in academic writing is usually expressed through three main parts:

–         Stating the context and aim of the assignment

–         Summarizing the main points briefly

–         Providing final comments with consideration of the future (discussing clear examples of things that can be done in order to improve the situation concerning your topic of discussion).

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Lois Weldon is writer at  Uk.bestdissertation.com . Lives happily at London with her husband and lovely daughter. Adores writing tips for students. Passionate about Star Wars and yoga.

7 comments on “How To Write The Best College Assignments”

Extremely useful tip for students wanting to score well on their assignments. I concur with the writer that writing an outline before ACTUALLY starting to write assignments is extremely important. I have observed students who start off quite well but they tend to lose focus in between which causes them to lose marks. So an outline helps them to maintain the theme focused.

Hello Great information…. write assignments

Well elabrated

Thanks for the information. This site has amazing articles. Looking forward to continuing on this site.

This article is certainly going to help student . Well written.

Really good, thanks

Practical tips on assignment writing, the’re fantastic. Thank you!

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For Teachers: 1001 Assignments

Below is a list of recommended assignments for English 1001. In some cases, descriptions are followed by links with sample assignments and other related resources.

Annotated Bibliography : An annotated bibliography helps students think through a research topic. In addition to bibliographical entry, each source is followed by a concise analysis of its main points. Annotations may also include a short response or a statement of potential uses for the source. These annotations are intended to be tools for students as they work on later essays; annotations should be designed to help them quickly remember how each source might be useful in their writing. How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography (with sample) | Assignment Sheet

Causal Analysis : In a causal analysis, students are asked to investigate the known or possible causes of a situation, trend, or phenomenon through extensive research. At its most basic, a causal analysis seeks to answer the question "Why?" Since complex trends and phenomena are not easy to trace step-by-step, causal analysis typically relies on informed speculation of causes using reliable evidence and firsthand experience. Causal Analysis Assignment Sheet

Evaluation of a Source : During research, students should be able to read their sources for credibility and rhetorical appeals as well as for information. This type of reading can be expanded into an evaluation of a source, in which students must conduct a rhetorical analysis of their own materials. As part of this evaluation, students can examine the presentation of information, underlying assumptions, audience awareness, and possible uses of the source in future projects.

Event Analysis : In an event analysis, students are asked to explain the contexts and controversies surrounding a particular event. The event can be something in the past or something that students experience firsthand. An event analysis may examine the causes of the event, the activities during the event, the circumstances surrounding the event, or the consequences of the event. But the focal point is always the particular event and the parties involved. Sample Assignment Sheet

Habit Analysis : In a habit analysis, students are asked to examine the naturalized behaviors (or habits) that help to construct our personal identities and social norms. In one sense, a habit analysis is a rhetorical analysis focusing on ethos , the art of identifying oneself and earning trust. However, a habit analysis can also examine other kinds of behavior, such as personal writing habits or established social customs.

Issue Analysis : (*REQUIRED*) In an issue analysis, students are asked to explain the debate surrounding a contested issue. Because issues involve multiple perspectives, students must locate a wide range of sources in order to present each perspective fairly and thoughtfully. The ultimate goal of an issue analysis is to introduce the debate to an uninformed audience without favoring one argument. All sections of English 1001 must include an issue analysis in order to complete the end-of-semester assessment . Find assignment sheets, scoring matrices, and sample issue analysis essays in the English 1001 Teachers  topic on the community moodle    page.

Literacy Analysis : In a literacy analysis, students are asked to reflect on the experiences and events that have shaped them as both readers and writers. This assignment is useful because it introduces writing itself as a topic of inquiry and identity-formation. Furthermore, it allows students and teachers to share both frustrations and insights about writing as a "literate" activity through self-reflexive analyses of students' writing practices. Click on the following links for sample documents: Assignment Sheet || Sample Rubric 1 | 2 || Sample Literacy Analysis || Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives

Presentation: For the presentation, students are asked to present their analysis of an issue, text, or image to the entire class. Some teachers ask students to work collaboratively, use technology such as Power Points, or use other visual media. Group Visual Presentation Assignment | Individual Oral Presentation Assignment

Process Analysis : In a process analysis, students are asked to take readers through a chronological sequence of steps. Informational process analyses describe how something occurs, while instructional process analyses describe how something is done (such that it can be duplicated). Processes analyzed should be neither too technical nor too simplistic, and students should be able to explain the importance of the process to readers.

Rhetorical Analysis : In a rhetorical analysis, students are asked to examine a spoken or written text for argumentative appeals, including logos (appeals to make logical connections), ethos (appeals to build credibility), and pathos (appeals to win sympathy or incite emotion). Other topics of analysis include kairos (or context), stated or implied purpose, intended audience, thesis and background information. Prewriting worksheet | Sample prewriting | Rhetorical Strategies | Ethos, Pathos and Logos: 1 | 2 || Assignment sheet || Sample essays: basic | 1 | 2  || Rubric

Synthesis:  Most analytical writing requires some form of synthesis; it is an essential skill for the required issue analysis, as well as for any researched essay. Some teachers create assignments to isolate and target this skill, which ask students to pull together multiple sets of ideas in order to compare, contrast, evaluate and discover new insights.   Synthesis essay and in-class practice | Literature review and synthesis

Textual Analysis : In a textual analysis, students are asked to examine a non-literary text (such as a scholarly article) and describe the way that it functions or serves a specific purpose. Analyzable texts may include scholarly sources, resumes, bibliographies, and so on. The criteria for analysis may vary depending on the text's purpose. For example, students can conduct textual analyses of each other's work based on grading criteria.

Visual Analysis : In a visual analysis, students are asked to examine an ad, website, or other form of visual media. Visual analyses can be conducted in a number of ways. For example, students might examine formal elements, such as color and perception. Visual analysis can also be combined with rhetorical analysis (explaining appeals to logic, credibility, emotion and context) and literary analysis (interpreting metaphors, representation, and authorship). In-class activity | Advertising Analysis Assignment  

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First-Year Syllabus

English 1310, 1320, and 1321.

This syllabus outlines policies common to all sections of first-year English at Texas State University. Students should read the syllabus carefully and ask their instructor to explain any information that they do not understand. In first-year English, students study the principles of expository writing--the kind of objective, audience-directed prose used in college and beyond to explain and defend ideas. Because reading, viewing, and writing are inextricably linked, first-year English also emphasizes critical reading and viewing, teaching students to analyze and understand a variety of texts, including expository and multimodal texts that represent diverse voices and ideas, as well as their own writing.

ENGL 1310: College Writing I (TCCN: ENG 1301) 

Intensive study of and practice in writing processes, from invention and researching to drafting, revising, and editing, both individually and collaboratively. Emphasis on effective rhetorical choices, including audience, purpose, arrangement, and style. Focus on writing the academic essay as a vehicle for learning, communicating, and critical analysis.

ENGL 1320: College Writing II (TCCN: 1302)

Intensive study of and practice in the strategies and techniques for developing research-based expository and persuasive texts. Emphasis on effective and ethical rhetorical inquiry, including primary and secondary research methods; critical reading of verbal, visual, and multimedia texts; systematic evaluation, synthesis, and documentation of information sources; and critical thinking about evidence and conclusions.

ENG 1321. Writing for Sustainable Change (TCCN: 1302)

This service-learning writing course focuses on supporting sustainable community initiatives in the local area. All writing assignments target real-world audiences in order to advance existing and/or proposed community projects. Writing assignments reflect a variety of genres, including multimodal texts and group-authored projects. 

Source: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Spring 2020 Lower-Division Academic Guide Manual , these are the  TCCN Equivalents  for ENG 1310, ENG 1320, and ENG 1321.

Description of First-Year English

In first-year English, you will study the principles of expository writing—the kind of objective, audience-directed communication used in college and beyond to explain and defend ideas.  First-year English classes focus on developing ideas and expressing them clearly, considering the effect of the message and the mode of communication, fostering understanding, and building the skills needed to communicate persuasively in writing and orally.  First-year English classes involve the command of written literacy skills that enable people to exchange messages appropriate to the subject, occasion, and audience.

Because reading, viewing, and writing are inextricably linked, first-year English also emphasizes critical reading and viewing, teaching you to analyze and understand a variety of texts, including written and multimodal texts that represent diverse voices and ideas, as well as your own writing.

First-year English has long been a cornerstone requirement in the undergraduate curriculum because of its practical value in the classroom and on in your career.  The two courses in the first-year English sequence address the Texas State General Education reading and writing competencies:

Reading.  Students will demonstrate the ability to comprehend, analyze, and synthesize a variety of texts and genres.

Writing.   Students will demonstrate the ability to draft, revise, and edit focused, organized, and appropriately developed documents for specified purposes and audiences.

At Texas State, the first-year English requirement also looks beyond these competencies.  It aims to discipline thought and expression, giving you the opportunity to study the art of writing for its intrinsic worth.  

Some of the defining characteristics of first-year English are as follows:

• It introduces you to the composing process, helping you understand the multi-stage, recursive nature of that process.

• It equips you with skills and strategies needed for each stage of the composing process—from finding a topic to proofreading a finished project.

• It explores writing as a means of communication and as a tool for learning.  Writing to communicate challenges you to produce clear, coherent prose adapted to purpose, occasion, and audience.  Writing to learn gives you tools for understanding complex texts and ideas—and for exploring your own thoughts and experiences.

• It offers frequent opportunities for writing.  Besides producing papers with related drafts and revisions, you may comment on the work of other students, respond informally to assigned readings, and keep a writing journal.

• It challenges you with a variety of thought-provoking texts and offers strategies and diverse perspectives for reading and understanding those texts, both print and multimodal.  Reading selections and multimodal texts provide ideas for discussion and writing and serve as texts for rhetorical and stylistic analysis.

• It prepares you to integrate the work of others into your own writing, showing you appropriate ways to cite and document that work.

• It provides instruction and practice in using technology as a tool for writing, creating multi-modal texts, and presenting to an audience. 

English 1310: College Writing I

English 1310 is a course in expository writing.  You will study the principles of effective composition, with emphasis on the improvement of your own texts through revision and the critical reading of substantive nonfiction texts.  While self-expressive and narrative writing may serve as a means of supporting ideas within a given paper, such writing is not, in itself, the focus of the course.

After completing English 1310, you should be able to draft, revise, and edit texts in which you demonstrate the ability to formulate a thesis (central idea) in an orderly way; form clear and effective paragraphs and sentences; use an appropriate vocabulary; and apply the grammatical conventions of written English.

Additionally, according to the Core Objectives for the Communication Component of the 2014 Texas Core Curriculum, in English 1310 you will

1. demonstrate command of oral, aural, written, and visual literacy skills     that enable people to exchange messages appropriate to their     subject, occasion, and audience. 2. demonstrate creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, as well as analysis,     evaluation, and synthesis of information. 3. effectively develop, interpret and express ideas through written, oral,     and visual communication. 4. relate choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making. 5. recognize different points of view and work effectively with others to     support a shared purpose or goal. 6. demonstrate critical thinking skills, communication skills, teamwork,     and personal responsibility.

English 1320: College Writing II

English 1320 is a continuation of English 1310, with emphasis on expository writing as a means of analyzing and understanding texts.  In this composition course you will learn to read carefully and critically and to draw on written sources to support your ideas.  All papers in the course are documented, with at least one of them (1,250-word minimum) requiring the use of several secondary sources. You will write at least 5,000 words of graded work. The final exam is in addition to those 5,000 words.

After completing English 1320, you should be able to draft, revise, and edit texts in which you demonstrate the ability to understand and analyze a variety of texts; quote, paraphrase, and summarize secondary sources to support your ideas; and use standard procedures of citation and documentation.

Additionally, you must continue to meet the objectives outlined for English 1310, including the six Core Objectives for the Communication Component of the 2014 Texas Core Curriculum.

English 1321: Writing for Sustainable Change

English 1321 is a continuation of English 1310, with emphasis on expository writing as a means of analyzing and understanding texts.  This service-learning writing course focuses on supporting sustainable community initiatives in the local area. All writing assignments target real-world audiences in order to advance existing and/or proposed community projects. Writing assignments reflect a variety of genres, including multimodal texts and group-authored projects. 

In this composition course you will learn to read carefully and critically and to draw on written sources to support your ideas.  All papers in the course are documented, with at least one of them (1,250-word minimum) requiring the use of several secondary sources. You will write at least 5,000 words of graded work. The final exam is in addition to those 5,000 words.

After completing English 1321, you should be able to draft, revise, and edit texts in which you demonstrate the ability to understand and analyze a variety of texts; quote, paraphrase, and summarize secondary sources to support your ideas; and use standard procedures of citation and documentation.

Writing Assignments

English 1310 requires a minimum of 4000 words of graded writing divided among at least five papers, and English 1320 requires a minimum of 5000 words of graded writing divided among at least five projects. The final exam is in addition to this minimum.  Besides the papers you submit for a grade, you will do a good deal of other writing in the course, including drafts, commentaries on the work of other students, and impromptu reactions to reading assignments.  You may also be asked to keep a journal or writing log, and/or post to an online class forum or blog.

Reading Assignments

Your instructor expects you to complete every reading assignment. But you should not assume that all assignments will be discussed specifically in class or given equal treatment if they are discussed. Instructors may emphasize material of particular relevance to a given class, but they always assume that students have read the entire assignment before coming to class.

Disability Accommodations

The University adheres to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines required to afford equal educational opportunity.

If you are a student with a disability who will require one or more accommodations to participate in your first-year English class, please contact your instructor as soon as possible.  You will be asked to provide documentation from the Office of Disability Services.  It is your responsibility to register with that office and to contact your instructor in a timely manner to arrange for appropriate accommodations.

Other Members of the Class

Exchange names, phone numbers, and email addresses with several members of your class.  Because you are responsible for all assignments, even when you are absent, you should know how to reach a classmate in an emergency.  You may also want to contact a classmate to discuss an idea for a paper or to seek advice about an upcoming assignment.  Think of your first-year English class as a community of writers; strive to become an active member of that community.

Conferences

All instructors keep regular office hours and encourage students to take advantage of those hours.  When you observe a persistent problem in your writing or have questions about an assignment, seek help from your instructor.  If you cannot meet the instructor during regular office hours, make an appointment for another mutually convenient time.

Attendance and Participation

Because the skills taught in first-year English are cumulative, regular and punctual attendance and active participation are essential.  Many instructors conduct their courses as workshops in which students draft and revise their papers and comment on one another’s work.  You cannot benefit from such activities unless you are there to participate.  You should therefore plan to attend, be on time to, and actively participate in every class meeting.

If you must be absent because of illness, your instructor may require a written statement from the Student Health Center or a private physician before excusing the absence.  Each instructor may establish a specific attendance policy; if yours does, make sure that you understand it.

Personal Technology

Your instructor may establish a specific policy regarding electronic use in the classroom; if yours does, make sure that you understand it.

Generally speaking, any electronic device you bring to class should only be used for class work. As soon as class begins, remember to turn off and put away your cell phone.  If an emergency situation requires you to be available by telephone, confer with your instructor for his/her preference for handling this situation.

Class Discussion of Reading Assignments and Ideas

The university classroom is a diverse community.  During class discussions, you may hear points of view with which you disagree, as well as express points of view with which others will disagree. Remember that such exchanges are critical to both the development and the communication of informed opinions and beliefs.

So expect to disagree with, refute, and/or challenge the ideas of others.  However, when doing so, remain calm, polite, and respectful at all times toward your classmates, your instructor, and their ideas.

Class Discussion of Student Work

Students learn much about how to improve their own work by reading and discussing the work of other students.  Your instructor may duplicate some of your and your classmates’ papers to use as texts for discussion by the entire class.  You should therefore consider your work available for public discussion by an audience (your class) once you have turned it in.

Students have rightly protested that those who hand in late work enjoy an unfair advantage over those who complete work on time. Your instructor is not obliged to accept late papers or to allow you to write an in-class assignment after the rest of the class has done so.  Late work—if your instructor agrees to accept it—may be penalized by grade-reduction.  If you have a legitimate excuse for lateness, speak with your instructor in advance.  Each instructor may establish a specific policy for late work; if yours does, make sure that you understand it.

Grading Standards

The following general standards apply to all papers written in English 1310 and 1320.  Early in the semester—and as the course progresses—your instructor may spell out specific criteria in addition to these.

C    C indicates a satisfactory performance.  A C paper demonstrates positive qualities and avoids serious errors.  The positive qualities include the presentation of a central idea that is adequately developed and competently organized.  The errors to be avoided include serious flaws in the construction of paragraphs and sentences, in the selection of appropriate words, and in the use of conventional written English.  The style of the writing is generally clear.

B    The B paper surpasses the C paper by demonstrating a higher level of effectiveness in the organization and development of a central idea.  The B paper shows greater complexity of thought and development, while sustaining clarity in expression.  It has few or none of the common errors in the use of conventional written English.  The style of the writing is generally fluent and polished.

A    The A paper is outstanding work.  It is clearly a superior performance according to the criteria of clarity of expression and logical development of a central idea.  It shows originality of thought and imaginative competence in the development of the material.  It engages and holds the reader’s attention and invites rereading.  The style of the writing is consistently fluent, polished, and distinctive.

D   D indicates an unsatisfactory performance. A D paper is flawed by any one or several of the following: weakness in establishing or developing a central idea; serious errors in sentence or paragraph construction; serious errors in grammar, spelling, or the mechanics of written expression.

F   F indicates an unacceptable performance.  An F paper is flawed by one or more of the following: failure to follow the assigned topic; failure to conceive, state, or develop a central idea; serious repeated errors in sentence construction or paragraph development; serious repeated errors in grammar, spelling, or the mechanics of written expression.

Academic Honesty

The complete Texas State University Honor Code and University policies on plagiarism, which may include use of AI, are available online at: www.txstate.edu/effective/upps/upps-07-10-01.html .

The English Department expects all students to be familiar with the Honor Code and related policies.

The Texas State University Honor Code states,

As members of a community dedicated to learning, inquiry, and creation, the students, faculty, and administration of our University live by the principles in this Honor Code. These principles require all members of this community to be conscientious, respectful, and honest.

We Are Conscientious: We complete our work on time and make every effort to do it right. We come to class and meetings prepared and are willing to demonstrate it. We hold ourselves to doing what is required, embrace rigor, and shun mediocrity, special requests, and excuses. We Are Respectful: We act civilly toward one another, and we cooperate with each other. We will strive to create an environment in which people respect and listen to one another, speaking when appropriate, and permitting other people to participate and express their views. We Are Honest: We do our own work and are honest with one another in all matters. We understand how various acts of dishonesty, like plagiarizing, falsifying data, and giving or receiving assistance to which one is not entitled, conflict as much with academic achievement as with the values of honesty and integrity.

The Pledge for Students Students at our University recognize that, to insure honest conduct, more is needed than an expectation of academic honesty, and we therefore adopt the practice of affixing the following pledge of honesty to the work we submit for evaluation:        I pledge to uphold the principles of honesty and responsibility at our University.

The Pledge for Faculty and Administration Faculty at our University recognize that the students have rights when accused of academic dishonesty and will inform the accused of their rights of appeal laid out in the student handbook and inform them of the process that will take place.

   I recognize students’ rights and pledge to uphold the principles of honesty and    responsibility at our University.  

Plagiarizing is submitting work that is in any way not your own.

Any cases of verifiable plagiarism, whether deliberate or accidental, will result in a failing grade on the assignment and may result in a failing grade for first-year English.  (Note: Peer review and consultation with your instructor or a tutor at the Writing Center do not constitute plagiarism and are encouraged.)

Your instructor may ask you to write and sign the Texas State student academic honesty pledge on all written work in the course. Your instructor may also require you to submit your papers to Turnitin, an online program that will check your work for originality.  If your instructor requires these measures, he or she will provide specific directions.

The University Writing Center and SLAC

The Texas State University Writing Center (located on the first floor of Academic Services Building-North, across from The Den) offers individual writing tutoring for all Texas State students, including those taking English 1310, 1320, and 1321 courses.

While tutors cannot edit your papers for you, they can work with you during any stage of the writing process—from exploring an idea to polishing a draft.

Your instructor may advise you to visit the University Writing Center or may require that you do so.  You may also seek help on your own. Visit the University Writing Center’s website at www.writingcenter.txstate.edu to make an appointment with a tutor.  For additional assistance, call 512-245-3018.

The Student Learning Assistance Center (SLAC), located on the 4th floor of the Alkek Library, also offers free tutoring for student writers.  Call 512-245-2515 for information, or visit SLAC’s online site at www.txstate.edu/slac .

Flowers Hall Computer Labs

The English Department offers some sections of first-year English in computer labs located in FH G13, FH 114, and FH 120.  When classes are not in session, the computers in these labs are available for general student use.  An English coursework printing lab is available in FH G06.

Other Writing Courses

If you would like additional writing instruction beyond first-year English, the Department offers various advanced courses in expository writing, technical writing, professional writing, creative writing, and editing.  The Department also offers a writing minor and an English major with emphases in writing and rhetoric and in creative writing.  For more information, visit the English Department in Flowers Hall 365, or call 512-245-2163.

What to Expect From a College English Class

Advantages and Disadvantages of Taking English Grammar and Writing ...

In high school, English classes often involve worksheets, vocabulary lists, grammar and generally less accountability to course policies. New college students in their first literature or composition class may be surprised by the differences from what they are used to. While college English courses encompass a number of topics and themes, all of them involve a greater workload of essays, more class involvement through discussions, and rigorous training in the arts of revision and critical reading.

Writing Requirements

While you may have had to write short papers in high school, you can expect to produce longer, more detailed essays in college. Depending on the course subject, many instructors assign anywhere from four to six papers a semester, varying in length according to the assignment. You will also be asked to revise your work more frequently, often doing multiple drafts of different papers, as well as sharing your work in class in peer-review groups. Papers may also be worth a higher percentage of your grade than in high school -- sometimes as much as 80 percent.

Research-Based Writing

In high school, much of the writing students do is personal and informal. College essays require you to focus less on your opinions and more on presenting factual, well-argued information. Assignments may even restrict you from using the pronoun "I" in your writing. You will be expected to include evidence from credible sources and use direct quotes, paraphrasing and summaries of sources. Instructors will also emphasize how to cite sources according to style guides such as the Modern Language Association and American Psychological Association handbooks.

Reading Requirements

In high school, teachers may assign reading without much more than a worksheet for homework. College instructors will assign reading with the expectation that you will arrive at the next class having read the material carefully. Because college English courses place a greater emphasis on discussion, you will need to consider what questions and comments you have as you read and be prepared to share them if asked. Many instructors also hold students accountable for reading by using pop quizzes or other evaluations.

Course Policies

In high school, class attendance is expected but often does not have a direct impact on student grades. Most college English classes, however, allow students only a certain number of absences. Your allotted absences are like "sick days"; once you run out of them, you will be docked the same way you would be if you didn't show up for work. Participation is often factored into grading as well. Therefore, failure to regularly attend class and contribute can seriously damage your final grade or result in your being withdrawn from the class without receiving credit.

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What Causes Students to Fail Courses in College?

Why Small Classes Are Better in College

Pros & Cons of Hybrid Courses

• University of Southern Maine: What to Expect From College Writing
• Austin Community College: What Students Can Expect in ACC English Courses
• Purdue OWL: Tips for Writing in North American Colleges

Kori Morgan holds a Bachelor of Arts in professional writing and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and has been crafting online and print educational materials since 2006. She taught creative writing and composition at West Virginia University and the University of Akron and her fiction, poetry and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

1.1 Reading and Writing in College

Learning objectives.

• Understand the expectations for reading and writing assignments in college courses.
• Understand and apply general strategies to complete college-level reading assignments efficiently and effectively.
• Recognize specific types of writing assignments frequently included in college courses.
• Understand and apply general strategies for managing college-level writing assignments.
• Determine specific reading and writing strategies that work best for you individually.

As you begin this chapter, you may be wondering why you need an introduction. After all, you have been writing and reading since elementary school. You completed numerous assessments of your reading and writing skills in high school and as part of your application process for college. You may write on the job, too. Why is a college writing course even necessary?

When you are eager to get started on the coursework in your major that will prepare you for your career, getting excited about an introductory college writing course can be difficult. However, regardless of your field of study, honing your writing skills—and your reading and critical-thinking skills—gives you a more solid academic foundation.

In college, academic expectations change from what you may have experienced in high school. The quantity of work you are expected to do is increased. When instructors expect you to read pages upon pages or study hours and hours for one particular course, managing your work load can be challenging. This chapter includes strategies for studying efficiently and managing your time.

The quality of the work you do also changes. It is not enough to understand course material and summarize it on an exam. You will also be expected to seriously engage with new ideas by reflecting on them, analyzing them, critiquing them, making connections, drawing conclusions, or finding new ways of thinking about a given subject. Educationally, you are moving into deeper waters. A good introductory writing course will help you swim.

Table 1.1 “High School versus College Assignments” summarizes some of the other major differences between high school and college assignments.

Table 1.1 High School versus College Assignments

This chapter covers the types of reading and writing assignments you will encounter as a college student. You will also learn a variety of strategies for mastering these new challenges—and becoming a more confident student and writer.

Throughout this chapter, you will follow a first-year student named Crystal. After several years of working as a saleswoman in a department store, Crystal has decided to pursue a degree in elementary education and become a teacher. She is continuing to work part-time, and occasionally she finds it challenging to balance the demands of work, school, and caring for her four-year-old son. As you read about Crystal, think about how you can use her experience to get the most out of your own college experience.

Review Table 1.1 “High School versus College Assignments” and think about how you have found your college experience to be different from high school so far. Respond to the following questions:

• In what ways do you think college will be more rewarding for you as a learner?
• What aspects of college do you expect to find most challenging?
• What changes do you think you might have to make in your life to ensure your success in college?

Reading Strategies

Your college courses will sharpen both your reading and your writing skills. Most of your writing assignments—from brief response papers to in-depth research projects—will depend on your understanding of course reading assignments or related readings you do on your own. And it is difficult, if not impossible, to write effectively about a text that you have not understood. Even when you do understand the reading, it can be hard to write about it if you do not feel personally engaged with the ideas discussed.

This section discusses strategies you can use to get the most out of your college reading assignments. These strategies fall into three broad categories:

• Planning strategies. To help you manage your reading assignments.
• Comprehension strategies. To help you understand the material.
• Active reading strategies. To take your understanding to a higher and deeper level.

Planning Your Reading

Have you ever stayed up all night cramming just before an exam? Or found yourself skimming a detailed memo from your boss five minutes before a crucial meeting? The first step in handling college reading successfully is planning. This involves both managing your time and setting a clear purpose for your reading.

Managing Your Reading Time

You will learn more detailed strategies for time management in Section 1.2 “Developing Study Skills” , but for now, focus on setting aside enough time for reading and breaking your assignments into manageable chunks. If you are assigned a seventy-page chapter to read for next week’s class, try not to wait until the night before to get started. Give yourself at least a few days and tackle one section at a time.

Your method for breaking up the assignment will depend on the type of reading. If the text is very dense and packed with unfamiliar terms and concepts, you may need to read no more than five or ten pages in one sitting so that you can truly understand and process the information. With more user-friendly texts, you will be able to handle longer sections—twenty to forty pages, for instance. And if you have a highly engaging reading assignment, such as a novel you cannot put down, you may be able to read lengthy passages in one sitting.

As the semester progresses, you will develop a better sense of how much time you need to allow for the reading assignments in different subjects. It also makes sense to preview each assignment well in advance to assess its difficulty level and to determine how much reading time to set aside.

College instructors often set aside reserve readings for a particular course. These consist of articles, book chapters, or other texts that are not part of the primary course textbook. Copies of reserve readings are available through the university library; in print; or, more often, online. When you are assigned a reserve reading, download it ahead of time (and let your instructor know if you have trouble accessing it). Skim through it to get a rough idea of how much time you will need to read the assignment in full.

Setting a Purpose

The other key component of planning is setting a purpose. Knowing what you want to get out of a reading assignment helps you determine how to approach it and how much time to spend on it. It also helps you stay focused during those occasional moments when it is late, you are tired, and relaxing in front of the television sounds far more appealing than curling up with a stack of journal articles.

Sometimes your purpose is simple. You might just need to understand the reading material well enough to discuss it intelligently in class the next day. However, your purpose will often go beyond that. For instance, you might also read to compare two texts, to formulate a personal response to a text, or to gather ideas for future research. Here are some questions to ask to help determine your purpose:

How did my instructor frame the assignment? Often your instructors will tell you what they expect you to get out of the reading:

• Read Chapter 2 and come to class prepared to discuss current teaching practices in elementary math.
• Read these two articles and compare Smith’s and Jones’s perspectives on the 2010 health care reform bill.
• Read Chapter 5 and think about how you could apply these guidelines to running your own business.
• How deeply do I need to understand the reading? If you are majoring in computer science and you are assigned to read Chapter 1, “Introduction to Computer Science,” it is safe to assume the chapter presents fundamental concepts that you will be expected to master. However, for some reading assignments, you may be expected to form a general understanding but not necessarily master the content. Again, pay attention to how your instructor presents the assignment.
• How does this assignment relate to other course readings or to concepts discussed in class? Your instructor may make some of these connections explicitly, but if not, try to draw connections on your own. (Needless to say, it helps to take detailed notes both when in class and when you read.)
• How might I use this text again in the future? If you are assigned to read about a topic that has always interested you, your reading assignment might help you develop ideas for a future research paper. Some reading assignments provide valuable tips or summaries worth bookmarking for future reference. Think about what you can take from the reading that will stay with you.

Improving Your Comprehension

You have blocked out time for your reading assignments and set a purpose for reading. Now comes the challenge: making sure you actually understand all the information you are expected to process. Some of your reading assignments will be fairly straightforward. Others, however, will be longer or more complex, so you will need a plan for how to handle them.

For any expository writing —that is, nonfiction, informational writing—your first comprehension goal is to identify the main points and relate any details to those main points. Because college-level texts can be challenging, you will also need to monitor your reading comprehension. That is, you will need to stop periodically and assess how well you understand what you are reading. Finally, you can improve comprehension by taking time to determine which strategies work best for you and putting those strategies into practice.

Identifying the Main Points

In college, you will read a wide variety of materials, including the following:

• Textbooks. These usually include summaries, glossaries, comprehension questions, and other study aids.
• Nonfiction trade books. These are less likely to include the study features found in textbooks.
• Popular magazine, newspaper, or web articles. These are usually written for a general audience.
• Scholarly books and journal articles. These are written for an audience of specialists in a given field.

Regardless of what type of expository text you are assigned to read, your primary comprehension goal is to identify the main point : the most important idea that the writer wants to communicate and often states early on. Finding the main point gives you a framework to organize the details presented in the reading and relate the reading to concepts you learned in class or through other reading assignments. After identifying the main point, you will find the supporting points , the details, facts, and explanations that develop and clarify the main point.

Some texts make that task relatively easy. Textbooks, for instance, include the aforementioned features as well as headings and subheadings intended to make it easier for students to identify core concepts. Graphic features, such as sidebars, diagrams, and charts, help students understand complex information and distinguish between essential and inessential points. When you are assigned to read from a textbook, be sure to use available comprehension aids to help you identify the main points.

Trade books and popular articles may not be written specifically for an educational purpose; nevertheless, they also include features that can help you identify the main ideas. These features include the following:

• Trade books. Many trade books include an introduction that presents the writer’s main ideas and purpose for writing. Reading chapter titles (and any subtitles within the chapter) will help you get a broad sense of what is covered. It also helps to read the beginning and ending paragraphs of a chapter closely. These paragraphs often sum up the main ideas presented.
• Popular articles. Reading the headings and introductory paragraphs carefully is crucial. In magazine articles, these features (along with the closing paragraphs) present the main concepts. Hard news articles in newspapers present the gist of the news story in the lead paragraph, while subsequent paragraphs present increasingly general details.

At the far end of the reading difficulty scale are scholarly books and journal articles. Because these texts are written for a specialized, highly educated audience, the authors presume their readers are already familiar with the topic. The language and writing style is sophisticated and sometimes dense.

When you read scholarly books and journal articles, try to apply the same strategies discussed earlier. The introduction usually presents the writer’s thesis , the idea or hypothesis the writer is trying to prove. Headings and subheadings can help you understand how the writer has organized support for his or her thesis. Additionally, academic journal articles often include a summary at the beginning, called an abstract, and electronic databases include summaries of articles, too.

For more information about reading different types of texts, see Chapter 12 “Writing a Research Paper” .

Monitoring Your Comprehension

Finding the main idea and paying attention to text features as you read helps you figure out what you should know. Just as important, however, is being able to figure out what you do not know and developing a strategy to deal with it.

Textbooks often include comprehension questions in the margins or at the end of a section or chapter. As you read, stop occasionally to answer these questions on paper or in your head. Use them to identify sections you may need to reread, read more carefully, or ask your instructor about later.

Even when a text does not have built-in comprehension features, you can actively monitor your own comprehension. Try these strategies, adapting them as needed to suit different kinds of texts:

• Summarize. At the end of each section, pause to summarize the main points in a few sentences. If you have trouble doing so, revisit that section.
• Ask and answer questions. When you begin reading a section, try to identify two to three questions you should be able to answer after you finish it. Write down your questions and use them to test yourself on the reading. If you cannot answer a question, try to determine why. Is the answer buried in that section of reading but just not coming across to you? Or do you expect to find the answer in another part of the reading?
• Do not read in a vacuum. Look for opportunities to discuss the reading with your classmates. Many instructors set up online discussion forums or blogs specifically for that purpose. Participating in these discussions can help you determine whether your understanding of the main points is the same as your peers’.

These discussions can also serve as a reality check. If everyone in the class struggled with the reading, it may be exceptionally challenging. If it was a breeze for everyone but you, you may need to see your instructor for help.

As a working mother, Crystal found that the best time to get her reading done was in the evening, after she had put her four-year-old to bed. However, she occasionally had trouble concentrating at the end of a long day. She found that by actively working to summarize the reading and asking and answering questions, she focused better and retained more of what she read. She also found that evenings were a good time to check the class discussion forums that a few of her instructors had created.

Choose any text that that you have been assigned to read for one of your college courses. In your notes, complete the following tasks:

• Summarize the main points of the text in two to three sentences.
• Write down two to three questions about the text that you can bring up during class discussion.

Students are often reluctant to seek help. They feel like doing so marks them as slow, weak, or demanding. The truth is, every learner occasionally struggles. If you are sincerely trying to keep up with the course reading but feel like you are in over your head, seek out help. Speak up in class, schedule a meeting with your instructor, or visit your university learning center for assistance.

Deal with the problem as early in the semester as you can. Instructors respect students who are proactive about their own learning. Most instructors will work hard to help students who make the effort to help themselves.

Taking It to the Next Level: Active Reading

Now that you have acquainted (or reacquainted) yourself with useful planning and comprehension strategies, college reading assignments may feel more manageable. You know what you need to do to get your reading done and make sure you grasp the main points. However, the most successful students in college are not only competent readers but active, engaged readers.

Using the SQ3R Strategy

One strategy you can use to become a more active, engaged reader is the SQ3R strategy , a step-by-step process to follow before, during, and after reading. You may already use some variation of it. In essence, the process works like this:

• Survey the text in advance.
• Form questions before you start reading.
• Read the text.
• Recite and/or record important points during and after reading.
• Review and reflect on the text after you read.

Before you read, you survey, or preview, the text. As noted earlier, reading introductory paragraphs and headings can help you begin to figure out the author’s main point and identify what important topics will be covered. However, surveying does not stop there. Look over sidebars, photographs, and any other text or graphic features that catch your eye. Skim a few paragraphs. Preview any boldfaced or italicized vocabulary terms. This will help you form a first impression of the material.

Next, start brainstorming questions about the text. What do you expect to learn from the reading? You may find that some questions come to mind immediately based on your initial survey or based on previous readings and class discussions. If not, try using headings and subheadings in the text to formulate questions. For instance, if one heading in your textbook reads “Medicare and Medicaid,” you might ask yourself these questions:

• When was Medicare and Medicaid legislation enacted? Why?
• What are the major differences between these two programs?

Although some of your questions may be simple factual questions, try to come up with a few that are more open-ended. Asking in-depth questions will help you stay more engaged as you read.

The next step is simple: read. As you read, notice whether your first impressions of the text were correct. Are the author’s main points and overall approach about the same as what you predicted—or does the text contain a few surprises? Also, look for answers to your earlier questions and begin forming new questions. Continue to revise your impressions and questions as you read.

While you are reading, pause occasionally to recite or record important points. It is best to do this at the end of each section or when there is an obvious shift in the writer’s train of thought. Put the book aside for a moment and recite aloud the main points of the section or any important answers you found there. You might also record ideas by jotting down a few brief notes in addition to, or instead of, reciting aloud. Either way, the physical act of articulating information makes you more likely to remember it.

After you have completed the reading, take some time to review the material more thoroughly. If the textbook includes review questions or your instructor has provided a study guide, use these tools to guide your review. You will want to record information in a more detailed format than you used during reading, such as in an outline or a list.

As you review the material, reflect on what you learned. Did anything surprise you, upset you, or make you think? Did you find yourself strongly agreeing or disagreeing with any points in the text? What topics would you like to explore further? Jot down your reflections in your notes. (Instructors sometimes require students to write brief response papers or maintain a reading journal. Use these assignments to help you reflect on what you read.)

Choose another text that that you have been assigned to read for a class. Use the SQ3R process to complete the reading. (Keep in mind that you may need to spread the reading over more than one session, especially if the text is long.)

Be sure to complete all the steps involved. Then, reflect on how helpful you found this process. On a scale of one to ten, how useful did you find it? How does it compare with other study techniques you have used?

Using Other Active Reading Strategies

The SQ3R process encompasses a number of valuable active reading strategies: previewing a text, making predictions, asking and answering questions, and summarizing. You can use the following additional strategies to further deepen your understanding of what you read.

• Connect what you read to what you already know. Look for ways the reading supports, extends, or challenges concepts you have learned elsewhere.
• Relate the reading to your own life. What statements, people, or situations relate to your personal experiences?
• Visualize. For both fiction and nonfiction texts, try to picture what is described. Visualizing is especially helpful when you are reading a narrative text, such as a novel or a historical account, or when you read expository text that describes a process, such as how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
• Pay attention to graphics as well as text. Photographs, diagrams, flow charts, tables, and other graphics can help make abstract ideas more concrete and understandable.
• Understand the text in context. Understanding context means thinking about who wrote the text, when and where it was written, the author’s purpose for writing it, and what assumptions or agendas influenced the author’s ideas. For instance, two writers might both address the subject of health care reform, but if one article is an opinion piece and one is a news story, the context is different.
• Plan to talk or write about what you read. Jot down a few questions or comments in your notebook so you can bring them up in class. (This also gives you a source of topic ideas for papers and presentations later in the semester.) Discuss the reading on a class discussion board or blog about it.

As Crystal began her first semester of elementary education courses, she occasionally felt lost in a sea of new terms and theories about teaching and child development. She found that it helped to relate the reading to her personal observations of her son and other kids she knew.

Writing at Work

Many college courses require students to participate in interactive online components, such as a discussion forum, a page on a social networking site, or a class blog. These tools are a great way to reinforce learning. Do not be afraid to be the student who starts the discussion.

Remember that when you interact with other students and teachers online, you need to project a mature, professional image. You may be able to use an informal, conversational tone, but complaining about the work load, using off-color language, or “flaming” other participants is inappropriate.

Active reading can benefit you in ways that go beyond just earning good grades. By practicing these strategies, you will find yourself more interested in your courses and better able to relate your academic work to the rest of your life. Being an interested, engaged student also helps you form lasting connections with your instructors and with other students that can be personally and professionally valuable. In short, it helps you get the most out of your education.

Common Writing Assignments

College writing assignments serve a different purpose than the typical writing assignments you completed in high school. In high school, teachers generally focus on teaching you to write in a variety of modes and formats, including personal writing, expository writing, research papers, creative writing, and writing short answers and essays for exams. Over time, these assignments help you build a foundation of writing skills.

In college, many instructors will expect you to already have that foundation.

Your college composition courses will focus on writing for its own sake, helping you make the transition to college-level writing assignments. However, in most other college courses, writing assignments serve a different purpose. In those courses, you may use writing as one tool among many for learning how to think about a particular academic discipline.

Additionally, certain assignments teach you how to meet the expectations for professional writing in a given field. Depending on the class, you might be asked to write a lab report, a case study, a literary analysis, a business plan, or an account of a personal interview. You will need to learn and follow the standard conventions for those types of written products.

Finally, personal and creative writing assignments are less common in college than in high school. College courses emphasize expository writing, writing that explains or informs. Often expository writing assignments will incorporate outside research, too. Some classes will also require persuasive writing assignments in which you state and support your position on an issue. College instructors will hold you to a higher standard when it comes to supporting your ideas with reasons and evidence.

Table 1.2 “Common Types of College Writing Assignments” lists some of the most common types of college writing assignments. It includes minor, less formal assignments as well as major ones. Which specific assignments you encounter will depend on the courses you take and the learning objectives developed by your instructors.

Table 1.2 Common Types of College Writing Assignments

Part of managing your education is communicating well with others at your university. For instance, you might need to e-mail your instructor to request an office appointment or explain why you will need to miss a class. You might need to contact administrators with questions about your tuition or financial aid. Later, you might ask instructors to write recommendations on your behalf.

Treat these documents as professional communications. Address the recipient politely; state your question, problem, or request clearly; and use a formal, respectful tone. Doing so helps you make a positive impression and get a quicker response.

Key Takeaways

• College-level reading and writing assignments differ from high school assignments not only in quantity but also in quality.
• Managing college reading assignments successfully requires you to plan and manage your time, set a purpose for reading, practice effective comprehension strategies, and use active reading strategies to deepen your understanding of the text.
• College writing assignments place greater emphasis on learning to think critically about a particular discipline and less emphasis on personal and creative writing.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

English professor promotes kindness through service learning project

Dr. Bryan Corbin's lifelong bond with his grandfather inspired him to create a service learning project that has touched the lives of thousands of senior citizens nationally.

The San Jacinto College South Campus English professor Google searched his bright idea, “letters to senior citizens,” which led him to several organizations that performed the service.

“I emailed over 50 of those organizations asking if they needed help with writing letters to senior citizens, and all of them said yes, but none of them could provide the material and postage to make it possible for me to implement a letter-writing project into my classes,” Corbin said.

Bring Smiles to Seniors

A representative from one of the companies advised him to contact the Bring Smiles to Seniors project founder Ron Tyson.  

“They gave me his information, and voila, a project the college and I could afford was born,” Corbin said.

Tyson agreed to fund the cards and postage. This meant Corbin would have a self-sustaining project at no cost to the College. Corbin introduced the project in fall 2022, and students wrote almost 1,500 cards. Since then, he’s managed to expand participation districtwide.

“Other professors are now participating by having their own learners write greeting cards to fulfill course requirements,” Corbin said. “Additionally, various clubs and organizations now have meetings dedicated to sending notes to seniors.”

As word spread, some students have even taken extra cards home to have their children or family members write encouraging notes to seniors. The project has almost reached 8,000 cards completed.

“One of the founding principles of the Bring Smiles to Seniors program was to ensure that children and students were involved in our program to teach them the importance of remembering those that paved the way for us,” Tyson said. “Our partnership with San Jacinto College helps us stay true to that principle. Dr. Corbin, staff, and all participating students at the college, serve as a shining example of what can be done when we take the time to care for and remember our seniors." 

Corbin’s goal was to bring service learning into his classroom. Even better, the project teaches kindness, something about which he is passionate.

The greeting cards project is meant to encourage students to learn, discuss, and write about kindness by reading “The Five Side Effects of Kindness” by David Hamilton. The students then put what they learn from the book into action by writing greeting cards to seniors. 

“I believe educators have a responsibility to use the podiums they helm to make the world a better place, so I try to give my students meaningful opportunities to serve others while still meeting course objectives,” Corbin said.

After reading the book and writing their heartfelt messages in the cards, students get to see the principles of kindness come to life.

Jeff McGee, department chair for fine arts and physical education and art professor, saw a golden opportunity to for his students to blend classroom learning with the real world.

“As a visual art and design faculty, I am always looking for ways to bring the classroom into the real world,” McGee said. “[I saw a way] to give my students a tangible and purposeful direction for their creative energy. When my colleague Bryan Corbin presented the idea of sending hand-created cards to seniors, I jumped at the opportunity and worked it into my Design class the next term. Bryan promptly delivered a stack of cards that his students had written but lacked a memorable, hand-made visual component. 

McGee presented the project to his students on the first day of class. In groups, they discussed and analyzed design terminology before applying their determinations directly on the cards.

“The students found the work to be stimulating, with many of them commenting that they ‘wanted to do a good job’ since the cards were going to be delivered to a real human being, McGee said.”

Students rarely show their artwork outside of family and friends, so this project “nudges them away from that shyness and gives them a platform to jump into the course content.” He explained the assignment is a direct lead into their first major project and establishes the use of industry-standard vocabulary throughout the term.

“This assignment will be a staple of my courses moving forward, and I have Bryan Corbin’s initiative to thank for that,” McGee said.

All the cards are sent to Bring Smiles to Seniors headquarters for nationwide distribution, but Corbin strives for greater involvement close to home. Finding local senior facilities willing to participate has been a challenge.

He hopes to spread the word and increase participation locally so he can someday reach a goal of 100,000 cards every year.

“This past spring semester when I introduced the project, I had a student come up to me in tears at the end of class,” Corbin said. “She told me that later that day they were putting her mother in a nursing home, and she thanked me for creating the project. This really touched me and helped bring the project to life even more for me.”

To learn more about Bring Smiles to Seniors, visit: https://www.bringsmilestoseniors.com/

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